


Guilty Pleasure

by shallowlives



Category: A Little Less Sixteen Candles a Little More "Touch Me" - Fall Out Boy (Song), Bandom, Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is...
Genre: Alternate Universe - A Little Less Sixteen Candles (Music Video), Alternate Universe - College/University, Blood As Lube, Blood Drinking, Canon Jewish Character, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, M/M, Mpreg, Possessive Behavior, Pregnancy, Rape/Non-con Elements, Smut, Vampire Fanboy Gabe, Vampire William Beckett, Vampires, it gets kinda messed up sometimes ngl, non-con isn't until later on, the quality gets immensely better as it goes on i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:55:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 45
Words: 121,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22041406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shallowlives/pseuds/shallowlives
Summary: His heart raced thinking of the possibilities. It was common knowledge to not run toward a scream out in the middle of the night if you didn’t want to die, but Gabewantedto die. He didn’t want to because he felt hopelessly suicidal, but instead optimistic in a sick way that dying at a vampire’s hands would be the most beautifully tragic way to end his mediocre life. Especially if there was the possibility it wasWilliamfuckingBeckett.-----------Gabe Saporta is a huge fan of vampires, so much so he has a Tumblr blog dedicated to the infamous William Beckett and the other vampires that roam Chicago. He would be happy to just be killed by one.Then William Beckett falls in love with him, and Gabe will do anything for him, no matter how morally questionable.
Relationships: William Beckett/Gabe Saporta
Comments: 78
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't part of my other 16 candles series just in case btw. This is a whole new thing.
> 
> In case you didn't pay attention to the tags, there's eventually mpreg. Sorry. I didn't think I would be writing mpreg a year ago but here we are and I'm not ashamed. This is something within the universe of the 16 candles music video but I don't think will have the events of it, just the general vibes.
> 
> And thank you so much to mikeyskies for helping me out with this fanfic and reading it and helping me come up with ideas and loving the concept! It means the world to me to have an amazing friend like you :)
> 
> Note from future me as of Nov 2020: Because now this fic is kinda well-known, uhh I have a few things I wanna say just in case, which is A) the first twenty chapters or so are not representative of my current writing, it gets better as you continue to read and I'm sorry about the smut, also B) if you're one of the characters in this fic (i know it's unlikely but still), please don't read it, I'm begging you, and if you do please say nothing about it at all. Thank you :)

There weren’t many good pictures of William Beckett. There were a few from before he was turned, back when he had the appearance of a sweet emo twink. Now, the most recent were mostly from security camera footage, police body cameras, and pictures taken from afar.

Today was a spectacular day for Gabe Saporta, because while he ate his cereal and watched the news in his dorm’s common room before class, he found out the notorious vampire gang William Beckett led, the Dandies, killed a group of seven UChicago students last night. The story showed security camera footage of a well-lit parking garage, where William Beckett and a few of his vampires ran into the group of drunk grad students. The grainy, pixelated footage of him made Gabe’s heart skip a beat.

Later, while he waited for the bus, Gabe took the footage from the news website and posted it on his Tumblr with the caption, **_bilvy looked HOT last night, didn’t he? too bad i had to stay home to work on a paper, wish i could have been one of those students._**

It was the most well-hid and embarrassing secret Gabe held; he had a Tumblr blog where he went by the username **_njbeckettfan_** and regularly posted all of his thoughts and fantasies about William Beckett, like most other vampire fans. Being that these infamous vampires such as William Beckett were almost always killing humans, it was the kind of fandom that was looked down upon by society, laughed at in Tumblr deep-dive videos on Youtube and analyzed by confused TV show hosts. It would be a lie to say at least one of his posts hadn't gained traction from appalled outsiders.

Yet, despite all the ridicule it got, Gabe still kept posting obsessively while all of his friends and family had no idea. It would be a lie to say Gabe didn’t consider William Beckett lived in Chicago when he was researching which colleges to go to, or that Gabe never thought of him when he was in the shower jacking off. There was just something so _fascinating,_ Gabe knew when he looked through the album of hundreds of William Beckett pictures and videos on his phone, about the certain Dandy leader he just couldn’t ignore.

During his lecture, Gabe wrote down his notes mindlessly, thinking of last night’s William Beckett footage. The parking garage was at the mall, which Gabe would have to put another thumbtack on when he got back to his dorm, to the humongous map of Chicago pinned above his bed. He had made it his personal project this spring semester to keep track of all the places where William Beckett was seen with red thumbtacks, or just Dandies in general with blue ones. One way or another, Gabe would find him and become another victim. He didn’t expect to be special enough to be turned; being left to bleed out on the ground would still fill him with immeasurable glee.

When Gabe returned to his dorm after classes, his roommate, Ryland, saw him plucking a thumbtack out of a clear plastic box and carefully inserting it into a clump of other red and blue thumbtacks. By now, he was used to hearing the rattling of the thumbtacks whenever he opened the door after a long day. _“It’s just for a project,”_ Gabe had told him when he first started a week after they got back in January, _“it’s about… I’m not sure yet, but it’s really, really important so please don’t touch it.”_

“Again?” Ryland sighed, walking to the space between their beds. He threw his backpack down and looked up at the large map that covered most of the cinderblock wall. It stood in stark contrast to the band and movie posters Ryland had hung over his bed. “I don’t like seeing that whenever I’m about to go to sleep, Gabe. It makes me feel like I’m in a mystery show and I’m gonna be the next victim.”

“Then you shouldn’t have transferred to a college in _Chicago,"_ Gabe said, getting down from his bed and starting to gather up his laptop and textbooks. “At least we’re not those smart kids at UChicago. They’ve got, like, at least a hundred of their students killed or missing. We’ve just got twenty six.”

“As if _that_ makes me feel any better,” Ryland said. “Want to go out before curfew tonight? Alex told me he heard about some new club that has really good security.”

“Nah.” Gabe only went to clubs with a known reputation of murders. “I was planning on going to the library to study.”

“Sure, just get back before curfew, or you’re gonna get in trouble with the campus police again.”

“I know what I’m doing, Ryland,” Gabe assured him, stuffing everything in his bag.

“Seriously, though, y—”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not one of those vampire-fucking _freaks._ ” Gabe rolled his eyes at him. “See you later.”

After eating a quick dinner in the kosher dining hall, Gabe headed to the library and sat himself down at a table with his notes. In reality, his next test was next week and he still had plenty of time to study, but any excuse to leave the library late would probably be good enough if the campus police saw him, the notorious curfew-breaker walking instead of taking the bus, _again._

The hours passed by with Gabe only pausing for bathroom breaks and to get a coffee. The caffeine fueled him for long enough that another student, Pete from political science class, tapped his shoulder at 12:43 A.M. to let him know that the library was about to close and curfew wasn’t far off.

Gabe took his time putting his materials and laptop into his backpack and zipped his coat as slowly as one could, then left the library to start his trek across campus back to his dorm.

Except for a passing car every once in a while, Gabe was alone. The entire campus felt devoid of life. Nearly every window of the buildings he walked by was darkened, and the parking lot of the student union was completely empty. The only audible sounds were the buzzing of the street lamps, the crunch of Gabe’s boots on the bits of ice melt scattered across the sidewalk, and the cars on the highway in the distance. It gave him an eerie chill and as usual, he grinned as he soaked it in.

Then, to add the cherry on top, there was a scream in the distance, wavering in the air before being cut off.

Gabe stopped, reaching his hand up to his mouth to cover the horrified but also _really_ ecstatic squeal he couldn’t resist letting out. He turned around to look behind him. It seemed to have come from somewhere around the corner of the gym, which wasn’t _that_ far out of his way.

His heart raced thinking of the possibilities. It was common knowledge to not run toward a scream out in the middle of the night if you didn’t want to die, but Gabe _wanted_ to die. He didn’t want to because he felt hopelessly suicidal, but instead optimistic in a sick way that dying at a vampire’s hands would be the most beautifully tragic way to end his mediocre life. Especially if there was the possibility it was _William_ fucking _Beckett._

“Fuck,” Gabe whispered, frozen in place. Even though he knew Ryland would probably wake up worried sick when he saw Gabe’s empty bed, even though he knew he would be wasting all the effort his father went through to immigrate from Uruguay and go to medical school all over again, even though there was probably somewhere in the Torah or Talmud that said not to kill yourself, it couldn’t quell his sick and twisted fantasy.

He wanted his blood all over the cement. He wanted his face on the news. He wanted everyone wailing for his tragedy during his shiva and yahrtzeit.

And so Gabe raced toward it.

However, as he ran across the street, he slipped on a small patch of melting ice. Gabe fell and scraped the side of his hand against the rough ground. He rolled over, holding his bleeding hand with his unharmed one, and crying at the sting, “Mierda!”

In the dimness, Gabe saw the blood that dripped through his fingers and down his arm. The metallic smell permeated the air. It wasn’t long until he heard footsteps coming his way.

Gabe bolted up and scrambled to his feet, and saw, right there in front of him, William Beckett.

Just as tall and skinny and intimidating as he was in the security camera footage, there he was in his trademark Dandy outfit of a suit with a cape and fur draped over his shoulder. He had no bowler hat this time, showing his rare full mess of shoulder-length hair. William was staring right at Gabe, observing his frightened appearance with parted lips that were stained with his previous victim’s blood.

Gabe gulped, paralyzed as they stood across from each other in the middle of the street. He still held his bleeding hand, which he drew slowly closer to his chest as if that would offer any sort of protection. Their eye contact didn’t waver. Gabe had no idea how long it was; it could have been just a few seconds or ten minutes. He had no concept of time in that moment, the moment he believed was marching toward death.

Finally, William looked Gabe up and down, settling his eyes on his bleeding hand. When he began walking closer to him, Gabe’s heart leapt violently in his chest.

“You’re stupid not to run.” William’s melodic voice startled Gabe, making him shiver. Audio of his voice was even rarer than pictures.

Gabe still didn’t move or say anything. He just kept staring at him, wide-eyed.

“What’s your name?” William asked, looking back up to study his face again.

It took a Gabe a few seconds, but he was able to finally say, his voice trembling, “Gabe.”

“Gabe,” William repeated to himself, savoring the way it rolled off his tongue, and then smirked. “I like that.”

 _Oh fuck,_ Gabe thought, _William Beckett likes my name._ That was all he could think. _William Beckett likes my name. William Beckett likes my name. William Beckett likes my name._ “Um… thanks.” He felt his cheeks heat up. He hoped the dark would hide his fluster, but his blushing was quite obvious to William. “I… uh… I like your name, too.” Wait, _fuck,_ why did he say that?

“You know my name?” William didn’t sound very surprised, but instead pleased. “Say it.”

“Um… William Beckett.”

William smiled wider. “I love how you say it.” Then he gently reached for Gabe’s bleeding hand, and strangely enough, Gabe let him. His grasp around his wrist was just as cold as the frigid air. 

That was the moment Gabe thought it would all be over.

Instead, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to Gabe’s scraped hand to put pressure on the bleeding. “It doesn’t hurt much, right?”

“Um… no. Just a little.”

“Good.” William nodded. “I’m sorry if you were startled at all by that scream.”

“Uh… no. It’s fine, really.”

“I’ll walk you back to your dorm,” he offered. “It’s really the least I can do.”

Gabe knew it was probably _really_ stupid to say yes, and there was probably some sort of unspoken rule about not bringing a vampire back to your dorm building, but this was _William Beckett,_ who was… was he _flirting_ with him? He couldn’t pass this up. “Sure,” Gabe said, trying not to sound too eager, although how easy it was for him to quickly say yes was telling.

They walked back the remaining distance to Gabe’s dorm, William still holding the handkerchief against his scraped hand. They were only walking for a silent minute before William asked, “So, you’re a student here?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “I’m majoring in philosophy and political science.”

“Interesting. You from around here?”

“No. New Jersey, actually.”

“I’m not going to lie, Gabe.” William raised his eyebrows at him and a humorous smile played on his lips. “I’m getting vampire fucker vibes from you.”

“What?”

“You’re willingly going to a school in Chicago, even though you’re out-of-state,” William stated. “You’re walking in the middle of the night, in an area everyone knows is dense with vampires. And now you’re letting me walk you home.”

Gabe had nothing to say to defend himself, but before he could even think properly he blurted out, “But I can’t be a vampire fucker if I’ve never been fucked by a vampire.”

William chuckled. “That’s too bad. You’re missing out.”

“Um… I guess. Not that I want to or anything! I mean, I’m not saying I _wouldn’t,_ but… um…”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered like that.”

“I’m sorry, I…”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. You’re cute when you’re nervous.”

 _William Beckett thought he was cute!_ Gabe could hardly believe it, and it only made his nerves worse. Luckily, they arrived at Gabe’s dorm, meaning there wouldn’t be much more for Gabe to fuck up at that point. “Uh…” A smile finally broke loose on his face. “Thanks. And thanks for walking me home.”

“It’s no problem.” Gabe tried to hand back the handkerchief, but William insisted, “No, keep it for now. You don’t have to give it back next time we see each other.”

“Next time?”

“Next time.” William leaned in, next to his ear, and whispered, “I’ll be back tomorrow night. You’re not busy, right?”

“No.” Actually, he had planned on going to a party tomorrow, but this was _William Beckett,_ so obviously he would have to cancel.

“Good. I’ll be here at eight.” William lifted his head away from his ear and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “And then maybe you’ll be able to say you’re a vampire fucker.”

Gabe inhaled a shaky breath hearing that and feeling his soft lips against his cheek. “Sure.”

There was a click from the door and Gabe stepped into his dark dorm room. He threw down his backpack and coat into a heap on the floor and started to fumble across his desk for the box of thumbtacks. He finally found the box, examined it under the light that seeped in from the window, and selected the right color. As he got onto his bed and pushed it into the map, Ryland flicked on the lamp on the bedside table. His sleep had been disturbed by the rattling of the thumbtack box, which wasn’t pleasant when he was about to be waking up with a hangover in the morning.

“What the hell?” Ryland demanded, taking a look at his phone and then back at him. “Gabe, it’s almost _two hours_ after curfew.”

“Just go back to sleep.”

Ryland pointed to his cheek. “You’ve got something there.”

Gabe reached up to his face and quickly rubbed it off, realizing William must have left dried blood on him. He could only hope Ryland would forget by morning. “Okay, just turn off the lamp already.”

“What does a pink thumbtack mean?”

“None of your business.”

“And what the hell happened to your hand?”

“Fuck, nothing.” Gabe reached over for the lamp and turned it off, then kicked off his shoes. “Goodnight.”

“You’re telling me about this in the morning.”

“Yeah, whatever, just go back to sleep.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's time for smut y'all!!!

“Just tell me what the pink thumbtack means.”

“It doesn’t mean shit,” Gabe said, trying to pull up his skinny jeans over his leg while jumping around the room. “It was just too dark to tell the color.”

“I’d let it pass if you didn’t get back past curfew with a scraped hand,” Ryland said. He was going through the closet in an attempt to find a clean shirt to wear. “What happened last night for you to have to put a thumbtack up?”

“ _Nothing._ ” Gabe zipped up his jeans and pushed past Ryland to grab himself one of his own shirts from off a hanger. “I don’t know. I just heard something, and that’s all.”

“Heard what?”

“I don’t know, I _just_ want to get a coffee right now. I’m tired as fuck.” Just as Gabe yanked his shirt over his head, there was a knock on their door. “I’ll get that.”

He opened the door. Standing in the hall was their floor’s RA, Travie McCoy, with his always annoyingly perky smile. Gabe guessed he was going to be politely reminded about curfew again, and with a heavy sigh, he leaned against the doorframe. “Morning. What is it this time?”

“Morning!” Travie exclaimed, not exactly befitting for what he was about to say next. “I’m just going around to share the tragic news that someone was found dead this morning on campus.”

Ryland raised his eyebrows at Gabe, who ignored it and said, “Oh, vampires again?”

“Yeah, I heard it was some girl who had just been closing up the gym. Morning classes are cancelled, so don’t get in the police’s way, _unless_ you’re a witness.”

“Well, good thing Gabe _didn’t_ break curfew last night!” Ryland sarcastically called out.

“Shut up,” Gabe scolded. “He’s joking.”

“Good, because if you did break curfew last night, it would be good to tell the police if you did see anything.”

“Then it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

“Awesome. Because I heard there was someone who swiped their card to get in at two A.M. yesterday.”

“Wasn’t me.”

“Alright. Then all I’ve gotta tell you is there’s gonna be a floor meeting tonight about campus safety, and there’s gonna be free pizza—”

“You know I’m not going if you only ordered pepperoni pizza again, Travie.”

“Well, even if it’s not for the pizza, it’s still a good idea to—”

“Yeah, that’s great, man, but I’ve heard it before.”

“Alright, then that’s all. Except I see you still have your map up.”

“It’s not a fire hazard, Travie, you don’t even know what the rules are.”

“I—”

Gabe immediately closed the door on him and mumbled to himself, “Suck a dick, you son of a bitch.”

“You’re not very nice to him,” Ryland commented.

“He’s only nice to me because he has to be. The moment he sees me outside the dorms, he’s gonna beat me up all because of my fucking map and curfew this and curfew that. Let’s just go get that coffee.”

Ryland agreed, and he didn’t speak until they left the dorm buildings. As soon as they did, Ryland asked, “So, you _must_ have seen _something_ to make you put the thumbtack in, right? Just tell me Gabe, I swear. I’m not Travie, you can trust me.”

“I do trust you.”

“Wait, fuck, did you see the girl die? Because, holy fuck, if you did—”

Gabe shushed him, hoping nobody nearby would hear. “No, not exactly. Look, what happened was I was walking from—”

“You walked instead of taking the bus? Vampire fucker.”

“I’m not!” Gabe denied. “I just wanted to get back and sleep and I didn’t want to wait for the bus. And while I was walking I heard her scream, and I ran and slipped on ice and scraped my hand on the ground. Nothing important enough to tell the cops about.”

“You could have just told me that before.” Ryland shrugged. “See? Wasn’t that hard. So then does the pink mean, like, you don’t know if it was that one guy who did it, or that you were around when it happened, or…”

“I don’t know what it means yet," Gabe said, very finally, although the pink thumbtack really just meant William Beckett had flirted with him right after killing someone and it was a feat to mark. “But yeah, that’s all there really is to it.”

Ryland nodded. “So, on another topic, you excited for the party tonight?”

“Actually…” Gabe started, feigning regret. “I can’t go.”

“Come on! You can’t just _not_ go. We’re all going. Nate had to call in sick to get out of his shift tonight.”

“I’ve got a date.”

“A date?” Ryland frowned at him. “I mean, I’m happy for you, but tonight? Really? Can’t you just bring whoever it is to the party?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, I just met him. Tonight’s the only night he’s free.”

“Damn.”

“There’ll be plenty more parties, you know I wouldn’t pass this one up if the guy wasn’t important to me.”

“That’s true,” Ryland agreed. They reached the student union, where Gabe held open the door for him. In the distance, police roamed around, and it made Gabe walk in a little quicker than he would have. “So, tell me about this guy.”

“I don’t know that much,” Gabe lied. In reality, he knew everything there was to know about William Beckett available to the public if you knew where to look. “I met him on an app. I’ll tell you all about him after the date.”

“Fair enough.”

They went into the student union’s cafe and waited in line for a few minutes for their drinks. After they received their drinks and sat down, Gabe went on the Tumblr app. Sure enough, all the other fans of Chicago vampires were freaking out that there had been another murder. The idea of causing further chaos in the fandom by bragging that he had met William Beckett and survived was tempting, but he thought it would be a better idea to keep his mouth shut and reblog posts like usual. He just hoped Ryland wouldn’t be looking over at his phone while he was liking a post that said **imagine william beckett strangling you to death after you have a mental breakdown in front of him and ask him to end it all <3 ** that one of his more fucked-up mutuals had made.

Gabe’s afternoon class couldn’t go by quickly enough. If he thought the anticipation _yesterday_ was bad just for wanting to put up a thumbtack, today was even more so unbearable.

The class finally finished after an eternity of fragile patience and Gabe rushed back to the dorm. He still had a few hours until William would arrive, so he went to pick up his dinner and returned to eat it while standing in front of the closet, trying to decide to wear. He went with a slightly newer t-shirt than the one he was wearing right now. Meanwhile, Ryland went in and out of the dorm to drop off his backpack and yet again remind Gabe of curfew before going to the party.

He tried to concentrate on some homework in the remaining hour he had left, but that was just as impossible as his afternoon class had been. Gabe couldn’t stop thinking about how William had said, _And then maybe you’ll be able to say you’re a vampire fucker,_ and it drove him insane. He slammed his textbook closed and instead made use of his time making sure there were more pink thumbtacks in his thumbtack box. There were.

As soon as it was seven thirty and the view from the window had darkened, Gabe decided that was early enough to go out and wait. He grabbed his coat and sat on a bench outside, his eyes darting around and searching for William.

It was a few minutes before eight when William got out of a car in the parking lot, seemingly his own, and wearing regular clothes. He was almost unrecognizable, wearing just an unzipped jacket, v-neck shirt, and jeans instead of his usual elaborate Dandy costume. And Gabe had never even _thought_ of him owning a car.

Gabe shot off the bench and ran to him. “Hi!” He said, which he felt was almost too excitedly.

“Hey.” William grinned back at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “How’s your hand doing?”

“A lot better.” Gabe held it up. It had begun to heal over quickly. “Um, I guess I’ll show you my dorm room. My roommate is at a party, so he won’t bother us.”

“Good.” Despite how inconspicuously William was dressed, the telltale mischievous glint in his eyes could not be rid.

He followed Gabe into the dorm building and in the elevator to his floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Gabe looked back and forth down the hallway to make sure Travie wasn’t there to be an annoyance and remind him guests should leave by curfew. It was fortunately empty, and he brought William into his dorm room at the end of the hall. As soon as Gabe shut the door behind them, his heart raced knowing the possibilities of tonight.

William looked around the regular dorm room, a slightly organized mess, and it wasn’t a surprise he noticed the huge map over Gabe’s bed. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s mine. It’s for… a class.”

“What are the thumbtacks for?”

“Uh… Dandy murders,” he admitted. “The red ones are ones where you were present, blue is if I wasn’t sure if you were there or it was just other Dandies.”

William didn’t seem to be bothered at all by it, but rather intrigued as he studied the clusters of thumbtacks and where they were located. “It’s quite impressive,” he complimented, turning away from the map to Gabe. “Must be a lot of work.”

“Thanks. This is almost two months of it, I think.”

“And what’s the pink thumbtack for?”

Gabe hesitated, and looked away while he said, “Meeting you last night.”

William’s face lit up. “I like it.”

They sat on Gabe’s bed and started a conversation that went on and on for at least an hour. Although Gabe had thought he knew everything there was to know about William, he didn’t actually _know_ him. His personality around someone he didn’t intend on killing was actually pleasant and sweet, and for a moment Gabe forgot he was actually a vampire. It didn’t take long for them to open up to each other about deeper topics than usual pleasantries, and already it felt like they had known each other for much longer than a day.

The conversation ended with Gabe opening his laptop to show him some movie he was telling him about that William had never seen. Neither of them had any intentions of actually watching it, however.

They leaned against the bed’s propped up pillows, William’s arm slung naturally around Gabe’s shoulders. Gabe relaxed into him, leaning his head on his shoulder after a few minutes. He clung onto his hand, and it only took a few seconds for Gabe to get used to his cold skin.

About twenty minutes into the movie, William sat up to pause it and then leaned back into the pillows, gazing at Gabe and raising his eyebrows at him suggestively.

“Can I…” Gabe started, looking down at William’s lips. He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Kiss me?” William asked. Gabe nodded, so William leaned in and pressed his lips to his. The kiss started off soft and sweet, but after a few minutes, William’s hand travelled underneath Gabe’s shirt and his fingers traced up and down his spine slowly, while Gabe wrapped his arms around his waist. It soon became more heated, more frenzied, with no space between them at all.

William pulled back from Gabe’s lips to get up and straddle his legs, and then resumed the kiss. Gabe’s hands flew to his hair this time, running his fingers through the long locks. After Gabe moaned for what was probably the third time at this point because _damn,_ William was a hell of a good kisser, William paused the kiss again and told him, “ _Fuck,_ you’re hot. Can I drink from you? I swear I won’t take much, I fed recently.”

Hearing William say that was a dream come true, especially for Gabe’s biting kink that was a result of his vampire obsession. “Yes, honestly, _please_ do.”

“Neck or wrist?”

“Neck.” _Definitely_ his neck.

“Might want to take off your shirt, then.”

Gabe pulled off his shirt even though there was a part of him that did want blood on it to keep for the memory, but he knew that would only elicit more questions from his roommate. Once the shirt was on the floor, William kissed down his neck and sank his fangs into his skin.

When his teeth broke through his flesh, it stung much more than he expected, but it was bearable enough. Gabe gritted his teeth and his nails dug into William’s sides as he bit back any loud sounds of distress.

Once he got used to the pain, Gabe found it was actually _very_ enjoyable for a vampire to be drinking his blood. He moaned out as William sucked it up, and when William had finished, he lapped up the remaining blood dripping down Gabe’s shoulder. Once William sat upright again, Gabe ran his fingers over where William had bitten.

“Woah,” Gabe said. “That’s…”

“You think it’s cool?” William finished. “Most vampire fuckers do.”

“I’m _not_ a vampire fucker.”

“Not yet.” William licked the blood off of his lips. “But do you want to be?”

Well, there was no way Gabe would be saying no. “Fuck yeah.”

William threw off his shirt and dove back in for another kiss, pinning Gabe down by his shoulders. The taste of his own blood on William’s tongue made Gabe moan in delight and he deepened the kiss in desperation. As William sank into the kiss, Gabe felt his bare chest against his, cold and yet so warming.

Gabe’s lips were left so William could return to his neck, spending more time on kissing and nibbling to leave multiple hickeys to mark him _his_ and _only_ his. While he did so, Gabe arched his back and begged, “ _Mierda,_ just fuck me!”

William smirked into his neck, and one of his hands left Gabe’s shoulder to dip underneath his jeans teasingly, brushing up against his dick. “Hm, you want me to, baby?”

As Gabe felt his fingers _right there,_ he grinded against him and breathlessly cried out, “Yes!”

“Good,” William whispered. He took away his hand and started to undo his pants, then Gabe’s. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, Gabe. You’re such a slut for vampires, aren’t you? You fucking love it when I drink your blood, I bet you’ve fantasized about sick shit like this for _so_ long.”

“You’re right,” Gabe said. He reached over to the drawer of his bedside table to grab the lube, which he handed to William. “Especially you.”

“Oh, really?” William grinned wickedly. The sight of his fangs sent a rush of blood to Gabe’s dick. William dragged his fingers down Gabe’s chest, until he reached the waistband of his boxers and tugged them off, revealing his erect cock. “Spread your legs.”

Gabe did as he said. William, without asking his permission this time, leaned in and bit into his inner thigh. Gabe cried out in pleasure as he drank, saying whatever Spanish curse words came to mind. When he finished drinking after a few seconds and came up, the blood dripping off his lips was _much_ hotter than if it had been cum instead.

“Shit, that’s hot,” Gabe said when he saw the sight. “Please, just fuck me, cógeme _duro._ ”

“You need it so _bad,_ don’t you?” William picked up the lube and poured it onto his fingers. “You ready to be stretched out?”

“Yeah.” William inserted his fingers slowly, and as they entered, made a scissoring motion with his fingers. After he had stretched Gabe out properly, William took off his own boxers, exposing his hard dick, and lined himself up.

“Whenever you’re ready, I’m going to fuck you so hard,” William swore to him.

Gabe took a second, and then nodded. “Okay, you can go in.”

William began to push himself in, and once he was all the way in, Gabe got used to the ache and then said, “You can start fucking me. Hard, it _has_ to be.”

“Good.”

William snapped his hips back and then into Gabe, causing William to moan and Gabe to gasp. As his thrusts sped up and became faster and rougher, he only had to adjust himself a few times before he found Gabe’s prostate. Once he did, Gabe cried out, “Cógeme más fuerte! Fuck, William, harder, harder!”, forgetting about his neighbors. As William also gasped out his moans, his visible fangs tinted with blood only made it much hotter.

It didn’t take Gabe long to come, ultimately unraveling as a moaning and bloody hot mess, and William came not very long after he saw _that._

“You should put another pink thumbtack up,” William suggested while they cuddled, just after they had finished having sex. “That can be our thing. A pink thumbtack every time we fuck.”

“Good idea.” Gabe sat up and crawled to the end of the bed, grasping for his thumbtack box on his nearby desk. Finally, he grabbed it and took a pink thumbtack, and stuck it into the map, just next to the other pink thumbtack.

After that, he returned to cuddling with William, enjoying the comfort of his soft skin and the thick comforter they huddled under. The only discomfort was the dull sting of the bite on his neck, but it wasn’t too noticeable as long as Gabe avoided moving. At some point, William gave him his phone number, the second best thing to happen that night. Not only had Gabe been fucked by and bitten by William Beckett, _but_ he also now had his phone number saved as a contact in his phone, his name followed by about five heart emojis. If this was a dream, Gabe was fully prepared to wake up at any moment, but the small details of the heating faintly whirring in the background and how William’s eyelashes felt gently brushing against his cheek reassured him this all was beautifully real.

Their bliss was interrupted by a click from the door, signalling Ryland had returned.

“Crap, my roommate’s back,” Gabe told William.

They sat up as Ryland walked in, a large stain on his shirt and smelling of vomit. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Just cuddling. I didn’t think you’d get back so early.”

“Yeah, Vicky drank too much and threw up all over me, and since I was the designated driver tonight I had to bring her back to her dorm,” Ryland said. “Um, I’m gonna take a shower, so you guys can get like… get dressed and clean up while I’m doing that.”

Ryland awkwardly grabbed his basket of shower supplies and a towel and left in a hurry. Gabe and William left the bed, cleaned up, and gathered their clothes off of where they were strewn around the floor, Gabe putting his own away to get on a pair of pajama pants and a different t-shirt.

“I should probably get going, I feel like your roommate isn’t too comfortable with me here,” William said.

“It’s just ‘cause he walked in on us naked, I probably should have told Ryland we would be hanging out in the dorm tonight. Once he gets to know you, he’s cool.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” William pressed a kiss to Gabe’s cheek while taking one of his hands, and then leaned closer to his ear to whisper. “Let’s do this again soon.”

“For sure,” Gabe agreed.

They said their goodbyes, and William left the dormitory. Not long after he departed, Ryland returned to the room with a towel wrapped around his torso, and while he changed, he caught a glimpse of the thumbtack map.

“Why’s there _another_ pink one?” Ryland asked.

“Another what?” Ryland pointed to the map, and Gabe turned over to look at it. He had since gotten back into bed. “Oh. That’s just there. No reason.”

“I don’t see why you have another— oh, it’s because you fucked that guy, right? Why are you putting that shit on your weird vampire map project though?”

Gabe yanked his blanket further over himself. “It’s _not_ because I fucked him. Night.”

Ryland decided it would also be a fruitless endeavor to question the bite he had seen on Gabe’s neck. Either way, Gabe knew he didn’t approve of his roommate’s new fling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> William and Gabe's first date! If you can even call that a date. Any comments guessing where their relationship will lead are welcomed :)
> 
> Chapter 3 should be out sooner, I was pretty busy recently but things have luckily calmed down (yayyyy). I've literally already written 9 chapters so far, so don't worry, I'll be updating consistently for a while.
> 
> As always, big thank you to mikeyskies for still loving the fuck out of this fanfic and helping me out!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a shorter one (sorry!) but I'm pretty sure the rest of the chapters after this are longer and I'll try to update sooner to make up for it!

When evening began to fall, Gabe spent almost every minute texting William while he was walking to his evening class. When he entered the lecture hall and sat down in his usual spot, next to Pete, he hardly looked up from his phone until class commenced.

“Gabe.” Pete nudged his shoulder. “Gabe!”

Gabe glanced away from his phone. “What?”

“Can you get our row the papers about the project?”

Gabe looked over to the front of the classroom, and sighed, disappointed to be distracted from texting. “ _Fine._ ”

He left his phone behind on the desk, since it would only be a mere moment to get up. While Gabe was busy grabbing a stack, Pete was not, in any way, looking through Gabe’s phone. He was simply sitting there and happened to be momentarily glancing at the screen when it lit up with a notification of a text from someone who caught his eye: _William Beckett,_ and if that wasn’t bad enough, there were multiple heart emojis tacked onto the end of his name. Nothing about the message was particularly alarming enough to remember, something about suggesting Gabe made sure he had enough thumbtacks, but the name still sent a tremor down Pete’s spine.

Gabe returned, passed out the papers, and sat down. Pete thanked him for getting his paper as normally as he could when he just found out his classmate was communicating with his worst enemy.

The rest of the class went fine, almost too fine. As Pete watched Gabe closely, it was almost as if he was acting _too_ normal. He wanted something else, something to make him go _aha!_ and justify any further action. Meanwhile, Gabe was just trying to pay attention to what the professor was talking about and wondering why he kept catching Pete’s eye.

And then the collar of Gabe’s shirt shifted down just a slight bit when he leaned down to get a new pen from his bag after his ran out of ink, and Pete saw the quite-familiar wound of a bite peek out from under his shirt for just a second.

When the class ended, Gabe gathered up his stuff as usual and turned around to head out, when Pete tapped his shoulder and asked, “Hey, you free? I was thinking we could study together.”

Even though Gabe had been unsettled by how obvious it was that Pete was paying a little too much attention to him, he didn’t have much of an excuse. “I mean, sure, I guess.”

They walked to the library, having a normal conversation about political science shit, until Pete asked, “So… earlier when you were leaning over, I saw something… on your neck.”

It took Gabe a moment to realize the topic had changed from the Supreme Court to the bite on his skin, and as soon as he figured out what Pete was making note of, he innocently said, “Oh, a hickey?”

“No, it wasn’t just a hickey, there was like… a bite?”

Gabe stiffened. “That’s not really any of your business.”

“I just want to make sure you’re not… you know, a _vampire fucker--_ ”

“I’m _not a vampire fucker!_ It’s just I have a biting kink, that’s all.” Gabe could tell by Pete’s slight frown that he didn’t believe him, but he continued. “And it’s so rude for you to ask something like that. You barely even know me! We’ve only actually talked like, how many? Three times before?”

Pete stopped when they reached the doors of the student union, turning to completely face Gabe and letting the sympathy bleed through his tone. “Look, dude, I'm just saying that if you’re being taken advantage of by vampires, I know what it’s like and—”

“Leave me the fuck alone, Wentz,” Gabe demanded. “Do you think I want anyone _hearing_ these kinds of conversations?”

“B—”

“Actually, I’m too tired to study.” Gabe stormed away, leaving Pete leaning against the door handle with a queasiness in his gut.

Gabe spent most of the night in the common room, texting William while lying across the couch. He was only there to annoy Travie.

“Gabe, you should go to sleep,” Travie told him. He was in the common room to microwave a mug of tea. “It’s almost three in the morning.”

“It’s comfier here, though.”

“You can also take off your scarf when you’re inside, you know. With the heating broken, you must have a deathwish.”

After Gabe’s encounter with Pete, he had thrown on some random purple scarf he had in the corner of his closet and was determined to take it off for nobody but William, despite how suffocatingly hot the dorm heating got. “It’s not a deathwish, it's a fashion statement.”

“Suit yourself.” Travie shrugged, going back to watching the timer on the microwave.

The common room was silent for a few seconds, until Gabe got a text from William. _Check the news ;)_ , it said. With a burst of energy and his heart set fluttering, he leaped off of the couch and raced out of the common room to his own room.

“Gabe, no running in the halls!” Travie called after him. Gabe kept running anyway.

Gabe threw open his door and it hit the wall with a loud _bang!_ which woke Ryland to see his roommate grabbing his thumbtack box like his life depended on it.

“What’s going…” Ryland yawned. “—on?”

“Nothing,” Gabe said, climbing quickly onto his bed and looking between the newsite pulled up on his phone and his map. In a corner of the map that was hardly populated with thumbtacks, there had been about 11 murders, all bodies found in completely different places. As he shoved in each thumbtack, it began to make a shape.

When all the thumbtacks had been pushed in, Gabe stood back and immediately grinned when he saw the shape.

“Is that… a heart?” Ryland asked, turning on the lamp. “What the hell?”

“It is!” Gabe eagerly answered. “I mean, not that I know why or anything.”

With an exhausted sigh, Ryland turned over and attempted to fall back asleep. Meanwhile, Gabe took a picture of the heart on the map and sent it to William with _Babe!!! That’s so sweet of you!!_ , in complete, blissful ignorance that it shouldn’t have been a good thing that eleven people had _died_ to make that shape.

The door was still left open in Gabe’s elatedness, and Travie walked in uninvited, clutching his mug of tea. “You gotta close your door. And I told you to stop running in the—” In the dim light of the cheap lamp, he spotted the heart on the map. “Why’d you put a heart on it?”

“I did not. It’s coincidence.”

“I’ll stop annoying you about it being a fire hazard if you actually tell me what that whole map is about.”

“ _Tempting,_ ” Gabe said, voice laden with sarcasm, as he set down the box of thumbtacks. “Can you get out? I’m actually gonna sleep.”

“Fine, man.” Travie stepped out, and before closing the door, added, “I gotta put up some flyers anyway. Night.”

The next morning when Gabe woke up, he exited his room to see, on the wall across from his door, a poster with a blurry screenshot of William’s face from a security camera, the largest picture among others of other recognizable Dandies. _If you see these vampires, stay away and call the campus police._

Well, shit. That was going to make hanging out with William a lot harder.

Gabe tore down the poster as soon as he read it and all the others he could find on his floor before stuffing them to the bottom of the recycling bin at the end of the hall. Travie would probably be mad and replace it, but _nobody_ was going to interfere with Gabe’s lover. Nobody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! It's probably not as eventful as upcoming chapters but still important and I think very exciting to be getting Pete involved now ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry to say there's no smut in this chapter just actual plot :( but there is in the next one so bear with me

When William parked his car outside of the building where Gabe had his last class of the evening, he was wearing sunglasses. He had been informed by Gabe of the posters around campus with his face and name on it among other Dandies, warning of their danger. As he stopped the car, he saw it stapled to a nearby telephone pole. He wished they had picked a more flattering angle of him, but at least his was one of the more blurrier ones. Brendon's was unfortunately as clear as day.

When the time passed that Gabe said his class would end, students flooded out of the building. Gabe came out of the crowd, quickly recognized William in the new car he said he would be driving, and ran over.

“Hey!” Gabe said, throwing his backpack in the backseat. “How are you?”

“It’s so lovely to see you again,” William said, lips turned upward slightly in a flirtatious smile. “I’m doing good. Are you excited for the movie?”

With the sudden influx of murders in the last week, especially the eleven to make the thumbtack heart, a movie seemed like the best option for now as the city became more vigilant. The couple would be safer in the dark of the movie theater, where nobody would be paying much attention to them. “Definitely.”

As William looked around, starting the car and preparing himself to pull out of the space, he saw an unpleasant sight: Pete Wentz, standing on the bottom step of the building and staring at William and Gabe.

Gabe took notice too. “Oh, _Pete’s_ looking at us. I think he’s probably just jealous.”

“You know him?” William muttered, distracted by staring right back at Pete before looking away and shifting the car into reverse to back out.

“Yeah, he’s in my political science class. Why? Do you know him?”

“I do,” William said with an air of misfortune. “I turned him a year or so ago. Since then he’s been nothing but an _annoyance._ He should have been glad to be turned. Most people are. But no, he thinks he’s so much better than everyone now that he refuses to drink human blood and tries to be a hunter. He’s pathetic!”

Gabe had no idea Pete was a vampire up to that point, and honestly, he wasn’t surprised. “Oh, that really sucks. The other day he was practically trying to interrogate me because he saw the bite on my neck. He thinks _everything_ is his business.”

“Ugh, I’m not shocked. I can’t believe he has the audacity. You should stay away from him. Don’t listen to anything he says. He’ll only try to come between us, won’t he?”

Gabe easily agreed. “You’re right.”

The movie date went off without a hitch. They sat in the back of the theatre and, like when they had watched Netflix, didn’t pay very much attention to the movie in favor of kissing. They exited the theatre giggling about some stupid joke Gabe had made about the end of the movie, and they were still grinning when they got into the car.

“So,” William started, once they had gotten in. “You don’t have a car. And I don’t feel right about just letting you take the bus so late at night.”

Gabe’s heart leapt, and he quickly turned his eyes toward William, realizing it had been mentioned at some point the car they were in was new. “Wait… are you…”

“I don’t just buy new cars for no reason. This is for you.”

“Holy shit.” Gabe could hardly believe it, and he glanced around at the interior of the car. “You… bought me a car? Holy shit. Fuck. That… that’s so much money, babe, I…”

“I have far too much money at my disposal, you don’t have to worry at all about that,” William assured him. He leaned forward, until their faces were mere inches away. “In the short time I’ve known you, I’ve realized how important you are to me. And if I can give you a car, I’ll give you a damn car. I want to give you everything, Gabanti.”

“Fuck.” Gabe broke out in a grin, and for the first time, he said, “I love you.”

The smile practically melted William’s heart. “I love you, too.”

After they admitted those words to each other, they couldn’t restrain themselves from colliding in a kiss. Again, William’s teeth bit into Gabe, this time through the skin of his wrist, and his tongue licked up the trail of blood that dripped from the wound. William climbed into the backseat, beckoning Gabe to him. The car shook with every thrust, William telling Gabe he was such a slut, how good his blood tasted, and how much he absolutely fucking _loved_ him.

In the morning, Gabe added another pink thumbtack to the map.

“A _car?_ ” Ryland was agape. They had been about to head to class, but now stood in the parking lot in front of their dormitory. He didn’t believe that William had bought Gabe a car at first, but now he was gawking at the sleek silver vehicle. “A _car?_ ”

“Yeah.” Gabe shrugged. “Isn’t it so sweet of him?”

“ _Sweet…_ Gabe, you guys have only been dating how long? Like two weeks?”

“Three weeks now,” he corrected. “And it’s really fine. He has more than enough money to know what to do with.”

“You’ve been dating for _three weeks_ and he bought you a car?”

“He doesn’t want me taking the bus and walking at night.”

“I thought you liked doing that at night, you’re literally fucking obsessed with vampires.”

“You know that’s not true.” Gabe dug his keys out of his pocket and jingled them in front of Ryland’s face. “Want me to drive you to class?”

“It’s a five minute walk.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. You’ll get to annoy me more about my boyfriend.”

“Fine.” Ryland sighed. As they got into the car, he added, “I’m still not very sure about your boyfriend. Like, come on, a _car?_ ”

“If you met him again, you wouldn’t be so unsure. He’s really, really amazing,” Gabe gushed. “Like, he’s always so happy to see me, and he’s so interested in me, and he does so much for me that I couldn’t even begin to repay—”

“Like a car?”

“Shut up about the car. Anyways, my point is, if you got to know him, you would see he’s really fucking awesome.”

Ryland was hesitant, but thought it over. “Well, I mean, everyone else wants to meet him, too, so maybe he can come with us to Nate’s costume party this weekend.”

A costume party. _Perfect_ for disguising William. “Yeah, let’s do that.” Gabe pulled up in front of the brick building that Ryland had his first class in. “You guys will love him.”

Ryland was skeptical about that statement, but nodded as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. After a moment, he half-heartedly said, “I’m sure we will.”

“Gabe," Pete begged. “ _Gabe._ I’m sorry about what I said after that one class.”

Gabe looked up from his texts with his boyfriend for a moment at Pete, very dubiously, and back down at his phone without a word. After William had told him it would be better to stay away from him, Gabe had trusted the advice without question and became wary. However, Pete Wentz was not someone who was easily ignored. For several classes now, he had been pressing him like this.

“Can we just get coffee after class and talk about it?” Pete pleaded. “I’ll pay for it. We don’t even have to talk about _him,_ like we can just talk about normal shit. Come on. I’m so sorry”

This had been going on for a few minutes now, so Gabe just mumbled, “Okay, I will if you stop bothering me about it all the time.”

So now, Pete and Gabe were sitting across from each other at Starbucks, entirely quiet and staring out the dark window at the melting snow outside. They were at a table in the corner, where nobody else had sat, allowing them some semblance of secrecy for their conversation.

“So…” Pete ventured, staring at his coffee. “I’m guessing you know William Beckett.”

“And what of it?”

“Have you ever seen him kill someone?”

“What?” That was an odd question to Gabe. “Of course I have. _Everyone’s_ seen the security camera footage on the news.”

“But with your own eyes?”

“No.” Gabe took a long sip of his coffee to avoid saying much more.

“It’s worse in person. You’re only with him because you don’t actually believe he’s as bad as he is.”

“And he isn’t,” Gabe simply answered.

“Why, because you’re the rare human he decided not to kill?”

“No. He’s more than that. He’s so caring and nice and romantic, and he doesn’t have any other choice than to kill—”

“He does have a choice,” Pete interjected. “He doesn’t have to turn innocent people. He doesn’t have to drink from humans. But when I told him about the substitute for blood my friend made, he laughed in my face and told me I was fooling myself.”

“Oh.” It was _extremely_ hard for Gabe to pretend to care that William was an unapologetically violent vampire. “I guess that’s bad.”

“You _guess?_ ” Pete demanded. “You _guess?_ Gabe, how much fucking lower can someone go than killing?”

“I mean, it is bad. But… I don’t really… that’s not all he is.”

“Fuck,” Pete laughed, leaning back in his seat. “You _really_ are a vampire fucker, aren’t you, you sadistic bastard?”

“Don’t say shit like that.”

“Well, you are, and you need help.”

“ _Help?_ That’s ridiculous. I’m an adult. I’m mature.”

“I was like you once,” Pete said. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. William tried to brainwash me like he’s doing to you, trying to tell me the most absurd shit was just fine. And now that I’m a vampire, my life is ruined. I can’t go back to living normally, and soon you won’t be able to either.”

Gabe nodded, pretending to understand. “I see.”

“If you want to get out, you have to do it soon.” Pete pulled a business card from his pocket and slid it across the table toward Gabe. “This is my hunting agency’s number.”

Gabe picked up the card, and after a second of staring at it, he put it in his pocket to discard later. “Thanks?” Hunting agencies were common among college students who, in Gabe’s opinion, had too much time on their hands and thought they could make a difference by running around for a few minutes after curfew with stakes and holy water. They usually didn’t last long. “I’m good, though, Pete, really.”

Pete, however, seemed overconfident about the usefulness of the business card, and replied, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

“He said _what?_ ” William demanded. He was driving Gabe back to his dorm after another movie date they had gone on soon after he finished his coffee with Pete. Gabe, being the loyal boyfriend he was, was more than happy to update him on the coffee shop discourse.

“He said since I actually haven’t seen you kill in person, I don’t believe you’re as ‘bad’ as you are.”

After a moment of delibriation, William shook his head and muttered, “He fucking thinks he knows everything. Like, you probably wouldn’t even _care_ if you saw me kill someone, right?”

“Yeah,” Gabe agreed, completely casually and without a hint of doubt.

William sighed in frustration, and turned on his turn signal. Glancing in the mirror and behind him, he pulled over to the side of the road. “We’re going to prove him wrong.” He put the car in park, and turned to Gabe. “You need to see who _exactly_ I am. The person I was when seconds before I met you, when I smelled your blood and immediately thought you would be just another drink. Would you mind seeing me kill someone tonight?”

Gabe’s eyebrows raised. “No. Not at all,” he confirmed.

“Lovely.” William yanked his keys out and they got out of the car. They walked down the street, dismal and abandoned at this time of night. The street lights cast an eerie, flickering glow on William’s determined face.

When they found their victim, a lady dressed in office-appropriate clothing hurrying down the sidewalk, William left Gabe’s side and ran toward her. When she saw him racing toward her, she screamed and turned quickly to flee. However, William caught up all too quickly, and seized her by her shoulders, ripped her jacket down, and sank his teeth into her neck.

As her blood was drained, her cries for help faded and were subdued as she fell against William, weakly trying to pry herself away from his grip. The woman fell unconscious when her veins were empty, heartbeat struggling to keep up with the pace of life. Her skin became a pale shade of blue. William let her drop dead from his arms to the ground with a heavy _thump._

William turned around to face Gabe. “ _Come closer,_ ” he enticed, blood dripping from his lips and outlining the curve of his chin as it fell. “This is what one of your thumbtacks looks like. And you fucking _love_ it, don’t you?”

Gabe took a few steps forward, and then ran the rest of the way to William. He kissed him, wrapping his arms around his waist and savoring his tongue heavy with blood.

This was exactly what he had fallen in love with in the first place. The gore, the blood, the death, the risk, all that encapsulated the mysterious Dandy leader, William Beckett.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter!! I'll post the next one this weekend or next week so y'all won't have to wait as long. I wonder if Gabe's choice of boyfriend is starting to alienate some people in his life and whether it'll continue... ;)


	5. Chapter 5

When Gabe picked up his phone the next morning, he was greeted with a flurry of new posts as he scrolled through Tumblr.

All of which were theorizing about William Beckett’s new boyfriend.

When Gabe realized that, he shot up in his bed and combed his fingers through his messy second-day hair.

After the news of another murder had been released, specifically the one William had committed, new security camera footage was leaked, as usual. Everyone was posting a clip about two minutes long of William running after the victim, drinking from her, and then Gabe kissing him. Luckily his own face was hard to see in the darkness and from the high angle, but William was recognizable as usual and all of his vampire-fucking fans were freaking out that it now seemed like he had a boyfriend. Some were excited and already trying to investigate with what minimal evidence they had in an attempt to find out who he was, others were angry that someone would have the _nerve_ to lay claim to some vampire they had never met.

Either way, Gabe was going to need to lay low for a while. And also a coffee. He _really_ was going to need a coffee to get through the day.

After Shabbat ended the next day, Gabe hurried from doing havdalah with some other Jewish students to his car. Ryland was already at Nate’s, so Gabe only had to worry about picking up William at the address he specified. He had never seen where William lived before and had forgotten to look it up, so as he typed it into the car’s GPS, it turned out to only be a two miles away from campus.

The GPS led Gabe to a well-off neighborhood, one that was _very_ much well-off. All the houses were built on expansive properties, surrounded by immaculate iron fences and led up to with curved driveways, topped off with warmly lit tennis courts and pools. He guessed most of the houses were probably worth at least a million dollars.

At the end of the road, Gabe came to the driveway of what was supposed to be the Dandies’ home. The gate had left open for him, so he turned in and parked the car in the circle outside the front of the house.

The house was admirably larger than most of the others on the street. It was a spacious craftsman-style house that yet didn’t begin to cover most of the property, secluded by the privacy of a thickly wooded area that surrounded it. Light radiated from the windows and the spring flowers were starting to push out from their beds; Gabe felt more like he was at the house of a rich family of four than a vampire gang’s. It was too oddly normal.

Gabe debated whether he should go to the door or text William, but decided to try to be polite. He got out of the car, climbed the front steps, and rang the doorbell. There were footsteps from inside, and some young, bright-eyed guy opened the door after peering through the peephole for a second.

“Uh, hi, I’m Gabe. I’m here to pick up William.”

“Oh, you’re Gabe!” the Dandy exclaimed. “Yeah, he’ll be down in a minute. He talks about you all the time. You can come in and wait for him. I’m Brendon, by the way. Do you want a drink? I think we have tea. And coffee. And maybe soda? I don’t know, we don’t really get groceries a lot.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Gabe, after hearing his name, recognized him as Brendon Urie, one of the Dandies who was often seen at William’s side. He also had quite a fearsome reputation albeit nothing compared to William’s, but it was still a surprise nevertheless to be meeting him in an energetic and quite welcoming mood.

They stood in the front hall of the house for a few seconds in silence while Gabe took in the room. Being the front hall, it was very neat and empty except for a modern-style painting he admired.

Brendon took it upon himself to make conversation and opened his mouth to say something random. “So, William told me you saw him kill someone. That’s pretty cool. That you’re cool with it. Most people aren’t, obviously.”

Before Gabe could reply, William came rushing down the staircase. The costume party was expected to be pretty chill, so he only had a glittery black mask from the party store to add to his regular non-Dandy outfit. Gabe himself wasn’t really wearing a costume; he knew he might throw up on his clothes at some point. “Hi! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long. I see you’ve met Brendon.”

“Hey, babe.” Once William approached him, he pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Yeah, me and Brendon were just talking.”

“Good, I’m glad you two are getting along. I’ll have to invite you over another time to meet the others. They’re all really lovely. Now, let’s get going, I can’t wait to meet your own friends.”

“This is William!” Gabe said, introducing him to his group of friends. Ryland, Alex, Nate, and Vicky were all sitting on the couch, looking up at them and observing William. Luckily, the mask seemed to make them none the wiser that he was the guy on all the vampire posters around campus.

“Nice to meet you!” Vicky said cheerfully. “Damn, Gabe, I thought you were lying you finally found a boyfriend.”

Alex also said something welcoming enough, and Nate went into the kitchen after offering to fetch them all beers. Ryland was courteous, but this also happened to be the first time he was finding out William’s name and it sounded strangely familiar enough that he tried to keep his distance for the time being and talk to some others at the party.

While the bass of the music vibrated through the floor and into their feet, they drank. Although the conversations between Gabe’s friends and William barely scratched the surface of who he actually was, he knew all the charismatic things to say to get Alex and Nate and Vicky to approve of him, which was easy in their soon-intoxicated states. He was able to get past his vague answers to questions such as, “Are you a student, too?” or “How’d you meet Gabe?” with only stupid jokes and compliments.

Gabe left the group to get another drink in the empty kitchen and Ryland followed him. Ryland wasn’t as drunk as others, only starting to become tipsy, and much more prepared for a serious talk.

“Gabe,” Ryland said. “I have to ask you about something.”

Gabe pried off the top of a beer, and holding the brim to his lips, said. “Yeah, sure.”

“Your boyfriend, William…”

“What about him?” Gabe asked between sips. “Do you not like him? Like, you haven’t really hung out with us a lot tonight.”

Ryland pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and showed a picture he had pulled up on it. “Is this him? William _Beckett?_ ”

The picture was one of slightly better quality than usual, a rarer one taken probably a few months ago by someone who must have been hiding just after watching him drink. It was William, standing over a victim on the street and poised to run away just after, wiping blood from his mouth with the handkerchief he had given Gabe.

“Now that you mention it, he looks _kinda_ like him.” Gabe giggled. “Of _course_ he’s not the _actual_ William Beckett! That’d be completely ridiculous!”

“Then what’s his last name?”

Gabe was honestly too drunk to come with anything. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it really does.”

“Fine, then, if you _insist,_ he’s the real-ass William Beckett, and I’m gonna stop talking to you and go fuck him because he’s really not _that_ bad!” Gabe laughed. Ryland tried to say something more, but Gabe promptly left the kitchen and interrupted William’s conversation with his friends.

“William!” Gabe said. “Drive me _homeee._ ”

“Hm?” William turned to him. “Why?”

Gabe leaned into him, whispering, “ _Because_ I want you to fuck me!” and then he giggled.

“He’s _always_ like this.” Nate sighed. Gabe’s whisper had, unfortunately, been very much audible to them. “Gabe, you’re drunk, you can’t just fuck random people.”

“He’s not random!” Gabe protested. “He’s my boyfriend! _William Beckett!_ ”

“Yeah, if he’s thinking you’re one of his vampire crushes he jacks off to, that’s how you know he’s drunk,” Vicky said to William. “Probably would be a good idea to take him home early, though.”

“Yeah, I really should,” William agreed. “Thank you for inviting me, it’s been great meeting you all.” He set down his drink and took Gabe’s shoulder, starting to lead him away. “Come on, Gabanti, I’m taking you home.”

“Fuck _yeah,_ ” Gabe slurred. As he and William walked out to the car, he said, “Can we _please_ fuck when we get back to my dorm? I’m not _that_ drunk, I swear. Like, you should have seen me at Purim two years ago. I was so shit-faced and my dad was like, ‘¡Gabriel Eduardo Saporta, no debes beber más Manischewitz, no quieres intoxicación etílicas!’ and I was like… actually, I didn’t say anything because I passed out in the middle of the synagogue basement and kinda ruined the party, but it was fine because he’s a doctor and they gave us extra hamentashen to take home. So like, I’m really not _that_ drunk, you know? Like, I’ll probably be kinda sober by the time we get back to my dorm.”

“I don’t believe that,” William firmly said when they were finally in the car after listening to his entire ramble. “We won’t have sex when you’re drunk, Gabe.”

“ _Nooooo,_ ” Gabe whined. After he fastened his seatbelt, he put his hand on William’s leg as he turned the keys in the ignition. “ _Please,_ babe.”

“Another time.” William gently removed Gabe’s hand from his leg.

Gabe frowned, but kept silent for a few minutes before he said out of seemingly nowhere, “Ryland knows.”

“What?”

“Ryland _knows._ ” He giggled. “He was like, ‘Is your boyfriend William Beckett?’ and I was like _yeahhh._ ”

“ _Shit._ He won’t tell anyone, will he? Gabe, when you see him, you have to make sure he doesn’t tell anyone.”

“Why?” Gabe implored.

“Because you’re mine.” William’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “And if he tells anyone, then we’re going to be split up, won’t we?”

They drove into the parking lot in front of Gabe’s dorm. As William pulled into a parking space and stopped the car, Gabe asked, “Really? I belong to you?”

“Yes.” William’s pull to change the gear to park was harsh.

“Then prove it.” Gabe teasingly whispered to him. He put his hand on William’s thigh again and leaned in, pressing his nose to his cheek. His breath, smelling of alcohol, was hot against William’s skin. “Does blood taste different when I’m drunk?”

William didn’t try to stop him. “ _Fuck,_ Gabe. You’re really sure you want to be doing this to me?”

“Bite me.” Gabe’s voice was low and alluring. “Sink your fucking fangs into my neck. Fuck me. I don’t care if I’m drunk. I’m not going to regret it if it’s you. Fuck me so fucking hard I’ll feel it if I forget in the morning.”

William avoided his eyes and said nothing. Gabe began to kiss down his neck and his begging slowly got louder as he told him, “Fuck me, fuck me, _fuck_ me, prove that I’m yours, William! You want to. I want you to! Do it as fucking hard as you want. _Please!_ ”

William took a shuddering inhale. “Gabe…”

Gabe took one of William’s hands. He still wasn’t stopped as he guided William’s hand under his shirt and into his pants. At the touch, Gabe moaned absolutely _sinfully_ against his neck.

“Do it, baby, bite me!”

And William came loose and, without warning, lunged for Gabe’s neck and tore his fangs through his skin. Gabe cried out at the sting and as he felt his blood being drained so needily, he grew hard quickly.

“Oh, _mierda,_ William, _te necesito, te necesito!_ ” Gabe moaned out. As William drank, he took his own hand from Gabe’s pants and quickly fumbled with the zipper, pushing down Gabe’s pants and boxers. Once William finished drinking from him, he spit onto his hand a mixture of spit and blood, then wrapped his hand around Gabe’s cock. Blood dripped from his mouth and rubbed off on Gabe’s lips as he messily kissed him while simultaneously jerking him off.

“ _Fuck,_ you’re such a needy slut, aren’t you?” William gasped, tearing away from the kiss but keeping his face pressed close. “You’re _mine,_ you’re fucking _mine,_ and if anyone ever tried to rip us apart, I would rip them apart first limb by fucking limb, until I was choking on their blood. I fucking love you, Gabe, and you could _never_ be taken away from me.”

“Yes, I’m _yours,_ fuck!” Gabe was close to his climax. “ _¡Dios,_ te amo, te amo, te pertenezco a ti!”

Gabe came, spilling all over William’s hand and moaning. That was definitely one of the best handjobs he’d ever gotten.

“Put your pants on,” William ordered. He had that kind of Dandy look in his eyes, one that was intimidating and unpredictable but hot as hell. “We’re going back to your room, and I’m going to fuck you so hard like you _begged_ me, you slut.”

Gabe woke up in the bed in his dorm room in the middle of Sunday afternoon. There was a pink thumbtack added to the map for him, and a note that greeted him on the side table when he rolled over that said, _Sorry, had to leave you before sunrise, but I really enjoyed last night and your friends are also pretty nice, text me when you wake up <3_

“I read it," Ryland said, after a few seconds when he heard the rustle of the paper being picked up. He was sitting on his bed, looking away from his phone. “Sorry.”

“Right.” Gabe somehow recalled the last night, and as he sat up, the hangover hit him and he groaned. “ _Mierda,_ I definitely drank too much. So, I’m waiting for you to tell me how stupid I am.”

“I don’t think you need to be reminded.”

“Please don’t tell anyone that he’s William Beckett.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Ryland lightly shrugged. “I wasn’t shocked when I found out, to be honest. And I guess if he wanted to kill you, he would have already done it. But you have to swear, Gabe, that you’re not going to get yourself into anything dangerous. The minute he hurts you, I won’t hesitate to call the police or a hunting agency on him.”

“I swear, it’s going to be fine,” Gabe promised. “So, you’re not going to tell anyone?”

“I won’t. You’re an adult and it’s none of my business.”

“Thank you,” Gabe said. “That means a lot.”

Ryland nodded, returning his gaze to his phone. “But I still don’t like him. He _is_ a murderer.”

Gabe disregarded that, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite chapters to write and I'm reminded of it every time I listen to a Cobra Starship album because that was all I listened to when writing it for the right vibes. I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> (also warning ahead of time in case you didn't read the tags: this fanfic is mpreg and that's gonna come into play pretty soon)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the mpreg starts this chapter so if you're not really into that... sorry but it's part of the plot so I hope you read the tags

As Gabe stood outside, waiting for William to pick him up, he _still_ couldn’t believe Ryland hadn’t revealed his secret yet. The furthest he’d gone was remarking, “Have fun, vampire fucker,” whenever Gabe went out the door to go on a date with William. He wasn’t sure whether it was a joke or mocking him yet. This time wasn’t so much of a date, more of Gabe going to his house to meet the other Dandies, and although he would have preferred to drive himself, William got a little too worried when Gabe mentioned over their Facetime call that he felt slightly nauseous.

As Gabe crossed his arms to brace himself against the mid-spring chill while he stood outside the dorms, his eyes darted back and forth to look for any hint of William’s car. He heard a shout from behind him. “Hey, Gabe!”

The dreaded voice was exactly as he suspected. When he turned around, it was none other than Pete and one of his friends. Gabe bristled and tried to mask the dissatisfaction from his face. Since the coffee they had together, Pete knew he had made his point clear but still tried to check in on Gabe whenever he saw him. Even though he was really harmless, Gabe knew William had told him to stay away and so he tried as best he could, but the dutiful disinterest he expressed was never noticed. “Oh, hi.”

“What are you doing out here?” Pete asked.

“Waiting for someone.” His voice was montone.

“Cool. Oh, this is my friend, Patrick!” Pete motioned to the ginger next to him. “He’s in the hunting agency I mentioned with me. Patrick, I’ve told you about Gabe, right?”

Patrick has been clearly told about Gabe, because even with his polite smile, he seemed wary knowing he was William’s boyfriend. “Hi.” He meekly waved.

“So you’re just telling _everyone_ about it now?” Gabe’s grin at them somewhat resembled a grimace. “Cool.”

“No, no, I promise I haven’t!” Pete quickly backtracked. “It’s just me and Patrick and Joe and Andy, our hunting agency, who knows, I just thought it would be important, but there isn’t anyone else who knows. We don’t talk to the police or anything. They suck. And we wouldn’t tell them anyway. Because you’re my friend.”

Gabe stifled any laughter at the use of _friend_ because he had thought he was doing a good-enough job of repelling Pete lately. “Oh. Thank you. Yeah, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s really fine, dude,” Pete said. “Anyways, wasn’t our test yesterday so hard? Like, for the last question, I thought we had to write something about gerrymandering, but then I was talking to everyone else and they said—”

“Are they bothering you, Gabe?” When they all hadn’t been paying attention, William appeared out of the darkness and wrapped his arm around Gabe’s shoulder protectively, looking innocently at the two others.

Patrick visibly stiffened and Pete bared his teeth. “ _Beckett._ ”

“No, it’s fine,” Gabe quickly said. His face paled. “We were just talking about class.”

“You don’t _look_ fine,” William commented. “Pete, you should know better by now than to go near him, shouldn’t you?”

“Gabe’s not your property.”

“He’s not yours either, so leave.”

Patrick tugged at Pete’s sleeve. “Pete, we have to get going.”

“I can’t just—”

And then Gabe threw up.

When his vomit hit the sidewalk, Pete jumped back to avoid it getting in his shoes. “Christ!”

William held Gabe up, rubbing his back and whispering soothingly to him. While he did so, he looked at Pete and Patrick and suggested, a hint of tension in his voice and the corner of his mouth turned down, “You should leave.”

Pete wanted to make sure Gabe was okay, but Patrick pulled at his sleeve again and in silence, they left. Gabe had absolutely no problem with that.

Once the remnants of whatever was in Gabe’s stomach were gone, William used a spare tissue in his pocket to wipe his mouth, took his keycard from his pocket to get them into the dorm, and helped Gabe inside to his room.

“I’m sorry,” Gabe apologized hoarsely while William was unlocking the door to his room. “I didn’t think I was going to—”

“No, don’t say sorry, babe, you can’t help being human,” William said. “I’m your boyfriend, I’m going to help you in any way I can. And there’ll be plenty more opportunities for you to meet the Dandies some other time. Just get some rest tonight.”

Gabe nodded. “Sure.” He felt like he would just throw up more if he said anything else.

Ryland had already left for work, so they were left alone in the room. William helped Gabe onto his bed and grabbed the trash can from the corner of the room to put beside him. “How do you feel now? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Better,” Gabe said. Now that he was laying down, his stomach was starting to settle. “I’ll probably be fine for my morning class. I think for now there isn’t anything you can do.”

“Good.” William sat down on the bed and kissed his forehead. “Let’s just sit and talk for awhile. There was something I wanted to ask you tonight.”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been wondering… what are your thoughts on being turned?”

“Turned?” Gabe, being that he was dating a vampire, felt he should have expected it to come up at some point, but any idea of it so far had completely slipped his mind. “Like... _me_ being turned into a _vampire?_ ”

“Of course,” William confirmed. Ignoring the slight stench of vomit that still lingered, he leaned in toward Gabe and ran his finger down his neck. “Not now, obviously. I want to know what you think about it.”

“I haven’t really thought about it, honestly,” Gabe admitted. “I mean, I’ve always thought about being fucked by a vampire, obviously, but like, I didn’t think that anyone would want to turn me. Even when we started dating.”

“But is it something you would like?” William asked. “Imagine… how _my_ blood would taste, how _human_ blood would taste, never having to worry about aging or illness. We could be together, young and in love _forever_ , with the entire city of Chicago under not just my but _our_ control for as long as we please. Imagine how beautiful that would be. We would have all the time in the world to do anything.”

He knew it would be easy to convince Gabe with that short and poetic sentiment, and he was right. “I love that.” Gabe was entranced by the idea, a smile slowly growing on his lips. “That sounds fucking amazing.”

“And it will be,” William said. “Gabe, you’re special, and I don’t want to ever lose you. If at any time you suddenly told me to turn you, _any,_ I would start in an instant without even thinking about it.”

Even though that statement should have sounded at least a little alarming, it also was pretty damn hot to think about. “I love you,” Gabe told him. “And I want you to do it. As soon as possible.”

“How about when the semester is over?” he suggested. “That’ll give you plenty of time to say goodbye to your loved ones. You’ll have the rest of your life to go back to college and finish your degree if you want to.”

The idea of it happening in only a matter of several months sent a joyful chill down Gabe’s spine. “Yes!” He would have kissed him right then and there if his breath wasn’t gross. “Right when the semester ends. You _have_ to.”

“Gabe.” Travie managed to somehow catch him just as he was leaving for his morning class. “Can we talk?”

Gabe sighed, closing his door. “Yeah, what did I do this time?”

“This is…” Travie grimaced. “Um, there’s been a lot of noise complaints lately about your room. And I thought it was just a one-time thing and didn’t want to bother you and Ryland about it, but like, there’s been… a _lot._ ”

“Oh.” Gabe flustered. It was easy to tell he was the guilty one. “Yeah. I’ll… that won’t happen again. I swear.”

“Good,” Travie said meekly. He was definitely embarrassed to be having this conversation, too. “So, did you like, get a boyfriend or something?”

Gabe nodded, awkwardly adjusting his backpack straps on his shoulders and avoiding eye contact. “Yeah. We’ll keep it down. I’m sorry.”

“Great. Uh, stay safe. There’s always free condoms on the first floor, I think.”

He _very_ well knew that even though he never had much use for them. Gabe was pretty sure vampires couldn’t transmit STDs and that he probably couldn’t get pregnant. “Yeah. Thanks. See you later.”

Gabe hurried away.

Gabe was in the library, studying at a table across from Vicky, when suddenly his hand slapped over his mouth and he shot up from his seat to run to the bathroom.

When he finished and came out of the bathroom, Vicky was standing there waiting for him, concerned. “Gabe, are you _okay?_ ”

“I don’t know,” he said, “I’ve thrown up a few times this week. But I called my dad and he said it’s probably fine… unless…”

“Unless?” Vicky raised her eyebrows at him.

“Nothing.”

“Gabe, unless what?”

“Unless I’m pregnant.” But Gabe quickly brushed it off. “But I’m definitely not. The gene doesn’t really run in the family.”

“So then you and William have either been completely celibate or using protection every time you’ve fucked?”

“Well… no.”

“Pack up your stuff. We’re going to the convenience store. I’ll buy the test for you.” Her words were very final, and Gabe didn’t protest.

Gabe waited impatiently for the allotted number of minutes, glancing over at the pregnancy test sitting on a paper towel on his desk and praying Ryland didn’t come back early. He had Vicky on the phone, and although they were quiet right now, it was a little comforting in some way. It had been a day since Vicky had bought the pregnancy test for him, and after it had been burning a hole through the depths of his backpack pocket, Gabe had finally succumbed and ripped open the packaging. He knew it would be negative, of course, and he could forget about this entire thing by morning, but his nerves could still not be calmed. He had a _feeling,_ but he hoped it was merely some placebo effect.

“It’s been _ten_ minutes,” Vicky finally said from the phone.

“Okay, okay. I’m gonna look at it.” Gabe inhaled deeply in an attempt to rid himself of nervousness. He got off his bed and paused before he finally turned the plastic stick over. Once he saw the result, it took him a few moments to gasp.

“What?” Vicky asked, even though it was clear from Gabe’s reaction. “What does it say?”

It was a plus sign. Positive.

He was pregnant with William Beckett’s baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabe is pregnant with a dangerous vampire's baby uhhh
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'll try and update sooner than this time, I know the suspense might be killing you to see how William will react to finding out ;) I hope you're hyped!


	7. Chapter 7

Gabe was pregnant. _Pregnant._

And he wasn’t sure how to feel about it still as he pulled into the driveway of the Dandies’ house, trying to keep himself from shaking. It had been a few days since he had taken the pregnancy test. He had kept the information all bottled up and a secret from everyone except Vicky, even from William, while he was trying to comprehend that there was a _baby_ growing inside of him. That is, until he suddenly broke down crying an hour ago and called William, telling him he had to tell him something important. He had no idea how William would react. They had never even talked about having children, not so much as a vague mention.

Gabe took his time getting out of the car. William had been watching for him through the window and ran out the front door. Once he saw how absolutely miserable and shaken Gabe looked up close, he hugged him tight.

“What’s wrong?” William asked. Gabe began sobbing into his shoulder.

“I… I… can we go inside first?”

“Of course.” William helped Gabe, who was heaving with sobs, into the house and up the stairs into his bedroom for privacy. As they went up, Gabe caught glimpses of other Dandies staring at them through the entryway to the living room. He buried his head deeper into William’s shoulder.

William sat Gabe down on the bed. After he closed the door, he sat down next to him and hugged him again for a long few minutes.

“You can tell me anything,” William reassured him, pulling back once Gabe’s crying had subsided. He took Gabe’s hand, entangling his fingers with his and rubbing his palm gently with his thumb. “What is it?”

Gabe bit his bottom lip and gulped back any more oncoming tears. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I won’t.”

It took a few seconds for the phrase to gather on Gabe’s tongue. “I’m pregnant,” he finally whispered.

It took just a moment for William to process the full meaning of the words. “You’re pregnant?”

Gabe closed his eyes. He was too scared to see his reaction. He choked out, “I’m sorry.”

“No, Gabe, don’t be sorry!” William’s grip on his hand was tighter, and he hugged him again. “I… I’m so happy! I’ve always wanted to be a dad! I didn’t know that you…”

“I had no idea I could get pregnant, either.” Gabe was instantly relieved by his positive reaction. “But, I guess with how much we’ve had sex, it makes sense.”

“We haven’t had sex _that_ much.”

“Haven’t you seen the map in my room lately? There’s so many pink thumbtacks.”

“Well…” Now that he thought about it, there were definitely a lot. “Yeah. I guess we have. Wait, before I get too excited, you… it’s your body, and it’s your decision what you want to do. If you don’t want to—”

“I want to keep the baby.” As soon as Gabe said that, it felt so much more real. He became just as elated as William, his face glowing with a bright grin. “We’re going to be… we’re going to be parents! Fuck, I can’t believe it.”

William kissed him. They both smiled into it, ending the kiss with their foreheads pressed together. “I love you so much,” William whispered to him. “I can’t imagine having a child with anyone else but you.”

William gave him the basic information that the baby would be a vampire, but the pregnancy would be perfectly normal and nothing like movies depicted. They would have to put off turning Gabe until after he gave birth, but that was it. Although with notorious William Beckett being the father, it wouldn’t be a good idea to have a hospital birth, but they would figure all the logistics out another time. Gabe also told him all the Jewish stuff about having a baby, like not naming the baby or decorating a nursery until after it would be born and that it would need a bris milah if it was a boy.

Once that all had been talked through, Gabe felt much more calm, like everything was just _right,_ while William kissed his stomach which wouldn’t be flat for much longer. He didn’t care that his education would be interrupted to take care of the baby or that the father wasn’t someone his own family would approve of; all that mattered to Gabe was that he was pregnant with _William Beckett’s_ child. It filled him with glee.

When he got back to his dorm room and saw Ryland there studying, Gabe said, very casually, “I’m pregnant," as if it was just a passing mention of the weather.

“You’re… wait, what?” Ryland swiveled around in his desk chair. “Did I hear you correctly?”

“I’m pregnant,” Gabe repeated. “There’s a fetus inside of me, bitch. Isn’t that awesome?”

“And It’s William’s?” Ryland looked the opposite of happy for him; instead, absolutely _terrified._ “ _Please_ tell me you’re kidding!”

“I’m not.”

“And you’re _keeping_ it?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You’re still in college!” Ryland exclaimed. “And you’re planning on giving birth to a vampire’s baby. How’s that going to work? Everyone’s going to be asking who the dad is, and you can’t exactly say William Beckett. He’s not the kind of guy that you can take home to your family.”

“We’ll make it work.”

“How, exactly?”

“Well, we’ve still got about eight months to figure it out.”

Ryland sighed. “And this is really what you want? William didn’t pressure you into it or anything?”

“I want the baby just as much as he does.”

“You’re in _college._ You’re _twenty._ ”

“I can always finish my degree later.”

“After William’s made you pop out like, ten more babies.”

“Well, not _ten..._ ”

“You actually want more? With _him?_ ” Ryland closed his laptop in defeat. “I’m going to the common room. I can’t believe I’m watching my roommate fuck his life up for vampire dick!”

In the next couple of weeks, Ryland acted like nothing had happened and the pregnancy wasn’t mentioned. Gabe had bigger worries such as upcoming midterms and how his family would react to the news.

William bought Gabe and himself first class tickets to fly to New Jersey for spring break. When Gabe told his father that his new boyfriend would be coming with him, purposefully failing to mention exactly _why,_ all he received was happiness that the family would be meeting him and that they could be there for their Passover seder.

Gabe pushed aside his fears of what exactly would happen during that time and instead booked his first ultrasound appointment for the week he got back to Chicago. Once he had done that, he deleted his Tumblr account.

After throwing down his pen when his political science midterm ended, Gabe officially only had one more to go before he could leave with William to New Jersey that night. As soon as he could leave the classroom, he headed to the bathroom.

Once Gabe stepped out of the stall, he realized just then he had been followed. Pete had stood outside of his stall, waiting for him to come out.

“Oh. Hi.” Gabe quickly hurried past him to the sink, hoping maybe, just _maybe,_ he wouldn’t be confronted. But Pete followed him to the sink.

“Take off your shirt.”

“Excuse me?” He stopped scrubbing his hands, confused, to stare at Pete’s reflection in the mirror.

“Has he bitten you anymore?”

“Fuck off.” Gabe resumed washing his hands. “It isn’t your business.”

“Take off your shirt,” Pete ordered.

“This is really weird, Pete.” Gabe made sure to use the paper towel dispenser the furthest across the bathroom, but Pete still followed him. “My relationship is none of your damn business. I get it, I’m fucking a vampire, and ethics and morals and shit that you want to preach to me all over again about it. I’m majoring in philosophy, you can’t tell me anything I don’t know.”

“Do you still have my business card?”

“ _That_ card? The one for your stupid hunting agency?” Gabe had to let out a laugh. “I threw it a—what the hell do you think you’re _doing?!_ ”

Pete had yanked the collar of Gabe’s shirt and his horrendous purple scarf up far enough to see the full extent of his neck and shoulders and chest. Gabe quickly slapped his hand away, but the damage had been done. There wasn’t more than an inch of his flesh that was unmarred. His skin nearly completely covered with numerous bites and bruises, and what wasn’t was still a tender shade of pink from being freshly healed.

“You’re _really_ his fucking whore, aren’t you?” Pete hissed. “This is what I meant! Beckett never misses an opportunity to be a fucking leech.”

“He’s not!” Gabe denied. “He’s perfectly respectful of my boundaries. He hasn’t drank from me in weeks, in fact.”

“Weeks?” Pete snickered. “Yeah, right. If that’s really true, why would he resist?”

“We have bigger things to worry about.”

“Like _what?_ ”

“I’m pregnant.”

Pete’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding. Gabe, you’re… you’re such a fucking _slut_ for him. I can’t fucking believe it!”

“Don’t call me a slut!”

“You are,” Pete said. “You’re so fucked! You know you’ll never get away from him now, right? You’ll actually bring a child into this world with _him_ as the father? Christ, Gabe, you truly are an idiot. A damn vampire fucker like all those Tumblr freaks!”

Gabe quickly left the bathroom, feeling sick for more than one reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pete really went off on Gabe, huh. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was kinda cute to write Bilvy being supportive even though he's an evil vampire bitch and then everyone else who's just trying to help so far not really responding the right way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Passover is in less than 2 weeks, it's kinda fitting that I'm posting this chapter now haha. If you're Jewish too, I hope the pandemic didn't ruin your plans too much :(
> 
> Also, this chapter has Gabe and his dad speaking Spanish in it. I put the translation in the end notes, I didn't really want to write that part in English because I think I'm good enough at Spanish that it's correct and in case imagining them speaking in Spanish helps you with being immersed in the story. If any of you speak Spanish and notice a mistake I didn't catch please tell me so I can fix it :)
> 
> the chapter is nice and long so get comfy!

While the plane began to taxi to the runway and the flight attendants walked by to close the overhead compartments, William looked over at Gabe and saw him staring out of the darkened window at the bright lights of the airport. Something didn’t seem right since they had arrived at the airport. They had managed to get through the airport without William being recognized, even through the TSA line, without any suspicion by acting inordinately normal despite the wanted vampire posters that were taped up. William did get a few stares, but when his passport was shown with a fake name and birthplace along with the addition of speaking in an authentic British accent, he was allowed by. Although they had gotten onto the plane easier than they expected, Gabe’s confident demeanor had dropped once they sat down and revealed his hidden nerves.

“You okay?” William whispered to him, taking his hand. “Do you have a fear of flying?”

“No, I’m fine with flying,” Gabe said. He was really thinking about what Pete had yelled at him earlier, calling him a whore and admonishing him for getting pregnant. “Just nervous about what my dad is going to think. He’ll probably be fine with you, but once he finds out I’m pregnant, I’m not sure what’ll happen.” Gabe wasn’t really as bothered about his father’s opinion as he made it seem, but he had to push the effects of Pete’s outburst onto something. He felt silly for letting it sting him as much as it did.

“I’ll take all the blame,” William promised. “And we’ll reassure him we can take care of a baby. I have plenty of money and I’m completely supportive of raising our child Jewish.”

“He’s still going to say I’m too young, that I haven’t even finished half of college yet, and he’ll probably say something about moving here from Uruguay so I could have a different life. And once he finds out I’m practically living off your money _and_ you’re paying off my student loans, I can’t even imagine what he’ll think. And since he’s a doctor, he’s going to be so disappointed I didn’t use protection or even know I could get pregnant and he’s going to over-worry because he probably knows everything that could possibly go wrong.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes.” The flight attendants began the safety demonstration at the end of the aisle, but William and Gabe were already familiar with the procedures and ignored it to continue their conversation a little more quietly. “I’m sure he’ll be excited to be a grandpa once he gets over it. It’ll all be fine.”

“He’ll definitely come around to being a grandpa,” Gabe agreed, but he was still uncertain. “But he’s not going to approve of you for a long time for getting me pregnant and letting me rely on you for money.”

“We don’t have to tell him about the money situation. Just say you got a good work-study placement.”

“That won’t explain the brand-new car.”

“He doesn’t have to know about the car. He’s not visiting us in Chicago anytime soon.” William leaned into Gabe’s shoulder. “All you have to do is say you’re pregnant, and I’ll answer the rest of the questions involving me.”

“What worked on my friends won’t work on him.”

“I’ve lied to much more difficult people than them. If I can fool the TSA, I can get your dad to be fine with me.”

Gabe was doubtful, but he really didn’t care. All that was tearing at him for now was Pete’s harsh words. He was in far too deep and far too fine with it. “If you say so, babe.”

Even though Diego had just met William, he already didn’t seem impressed with Gabe’s choice of boyfriend. They were outside of the airport where the car was parked in the pick-up lane, standing with him and Ilana after being greeted inside the airport when the couple had emerged from the sea of travelers. As soon as they had been spotted, Ilana had given them a grin and hugs, introducing herself to William eagerly, but Diego’s smile seemed more forced as he took in William for the first time and didn’t seem to be appeased by the man holding Gabe close.

They had just stopped in front of the car and Diego broke the silence by asking, “¿Tu novio comprende español?”

“No.”

“Tengo un mal presentimiento sobre él.”

“ _Papí,_ acabas de conocerlo.” Gabe sighed. William, holding their luggage and confused, looked between the two of them while Ilana frowned. “Sé que no es judío, pero…”

“No eso.” Diego then turned to William. “I’ll put the suitcases in the car for you.”

“Oh, thank you.” William handed the suitcases to him with a friendly and well-meaning smile, which wasn’t returned.

Gabe followed his father, lugging the suitcases to the back of the car, while Ilana and William got in. “¿Por que no te gusta?” Gabe pressed. He was completely clueless as to his sudden dislike of William. “Pareciste feliz por teléfono. ¿Qué cambió repentinamente?”

“Lo describiste muy diferente.”

“¿Qué es diferente?”

“Todo.” Diego lifted the last suitcase into the back of the car. “Gabriel, tengo un mal presentimiento en mis entrañas.”

“No lo conoces.”

“¿Y lo conoces?” Diego shook his head. “Juro que vi su cara en algún lugar.”

“Eso es _ridículo._ ”

“Veremos cómo se comporta esta semana.” He slammed the car trunk closed. “Tengo miedo incluso de la forma en que te mira.”

“¿Cómo cuál?”

“¿No lo ves?”

“Get in the car, it’s late,” Ilana yelled from the front seat, interrupting their argument. “You two can do all the catching up you need when we’re driving.”

Gabe sulked to his seat. The ride home was completely silent. And his father didn’t even _know_ about the pregnancy yet.

“Why doesn’t he like me?” William asked, shutting the door behind them as soon as they were within the privacy of Gabe’s bedroom.

Gabe lifted his suitcase onto his bed and unzipped it, looking for his toothbrush. “Take a guess. He’s just being an overprotective dad. He’ll come around once he gets to know you.”

“Then what was your conversation about? I think he asked if I understood Spanish, right? That’s not a good sign to me.”

“He doesn’t really have a good feeling about you,” Gabe admitted, but quickly reassured, “But again, once he gets to know you, I’m sure it’ll all be fine. Your face won’t be on national news for a while while you’re out of Chicago. As long as he doesn’t know your last name, he won’t connect the dots.”

“I don’t _want_ him to hate me if we’re having a child together, Gabanti.” William set down his suitcase and wrapped his arms around Gabe’s torso in a tight embrace, resting his head on his shoulder. “You’ll make sure he doesn’t find out anything, right? You’ll lie for me if you have to?”

“Of course, babe,” Gabe promised, leaning into William’s hold. “It’ll be fine as long as you don’t get into trouble in Jersey, which I know you won’t. How much are you going to need my blood, again?”

“Just once, at minimum.” William tilted his head slightly so he could lick a stripe down Gabe’s neck. “But I’ll probably last until we get back to Chicago if I _have_ to, though if you’re not too tired…”

The weighted exhaustion from midterms and travelling suddenly disappeared from Gabe’s head. “I’m not that tired. You know how curious I am to see you intoxicated on the pregnancy hormones.”

“You’re sure?” William asked, his hands snaking up Gabe’s shirt.

“Mm, don’t tease me. I am so sure about it.” After the stressful day he had, Gabe _needed_ it, and he knew William did too. William didn’t waste another second. He sank his fangs into his neck, eliciting something between a sigh of relief and moan from Gabe.

“Fuck,” William exhaled once he was done drinking. “ _Gabe,_ you taste absolutely amazing.”

Before Gabe had a chance to respond, William whirled him around by his hips and kissed him messily without even bothering to lick the blood off of his lips. As they made out, William reached behind Gabe and knocked the suitcase off the bed so he could push him onto the bed. Gabe only had a second before his lips were immersed again with William’s desperate kiss as he was straddled.

“Oh, _Gabe,_ ” William moaned, grinding his hips down. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Gabe barely could return the sentiment when he was kissed again. As William’s hands flew to undo his pants, he moved his lips to Gabe’s neck, leaving yet another prominent hickey to add to the collection on his skin.

Once William had undid Gabe’s pants, he quickly fumbled to take off his own. Gabe’s hands roamed under William’s shirt as he struggled to unzip them, and just his fingers at his nipples sent a jolt that caused him to moan and grind harder into him needily.

“Where’d you put the lube?” William asked, pulling back from Gabe’s breathless lips.

It took a second for Gabe to catch his breath. “Top pocket of my suitcase.”

William, in a hurry, fetched the lube from the toppled-over suitcase that had spilled onto the floor. Once he returned to Gabe, he took the waistband of his boxers in his hand and grinded against him again. “Oh, _fuck,_ you look so hot like this, baby.”

“I’m guessing my blood was just that good, huh?”

“You have no _idea._ ” He tugged down Gabe’s boxers. “I need more. Just a _little_ bit more. Can I drink more from you?”

“And it’ll still be fine?”

“Vampire fetuses can put up with a lot of shit.”

“Then please do.”

Gabe spread his legs, and William bit into his inner thigh. The moment his teeth broke through his skin and the blood filled his mouth, William moaned ravenously. He gripped Gabe’s hips as he drank, leaving crescent-shaped indents from his nails digging in. A few beads of blood pooled from the deep marks left by his nails.

When William finished, his mouth was still filled with blood, and he shoved the container of lube he had set aside off of the bed. Instead, he stuck his fingers into his mouth and when he took them out, they were covered in red.

“We’re using this,” William stated, holding up his blood-covered fingers. As he said it, the liquid dripped from his mouth. Gabe, of course, had no problems with his whim.

William stretched him, and the warmth of the blood was a welcomed change from the usual cold lube. The thought of his blood being used was appealing when Gabe thought about it, as it had a lot of similarities to some of his extremely confidential vampire fantasies he used to blog about. “We should do this more often.”

“I knew you would say that.” William grinned with his glossy-red lips and fangs. “I was thinking about it the whole flight. You’re such a slut for vampire shit, for _me,_ aren’t you?”

The use of the word “slut” immediately brought Pete to mind, but Gabe tried to quickly forget him and focus on the moment. “I am, I need—” Then William found his prostate, and Gabe moaned out, “Fuck, Bilvy, I need you to fuck me!”

William needed it too, and he wasted no time in taking out his bloody fingers and lining up his cock with Gabe’s hole. He thrust himself into him hard with a snap of his hips, causing Gabe to scream out, “Fuck me harder! ¡Cógeme duro! ¡Mierda!”

“Oh, fuck, you’re such a slut, I love you!” William said, thrusting in and out and building up a rapid pace.

“Bite me!” Gabe gasped out between his loud moans. Immediately, William took hold of his wrist and brought it to his mouth, where he bit down again, eliciting a beautiful and extended moan drawn from between Gabe’s lips. As he drank, blood dripped off of Gabe’s wrist across his face and the bedsheets. With one final thrust, Gabe came with a heady gasp and an arched back.

With a few more desperate and fast thrusts, William also came, releasing Gabe’s wrist to gasp out, “Gabe, fuck, I love you!”

When he had finished inside him, William pulled himself out and collapsed next to Gabe in the sticky, messy sheets stained with their blood and cum. After Gabe had caught his breath, he turned toward William and said, “Fuck, that was good.”

“It was,” William agreed. “You don’t think… they could hear us, right?”

“Maybe they were asleep already.”

“I hope so. I’ll be quieter next time.”

“ _No!_ ” Gabe whined, taking William’s hand. “I like you when you’re loud.”

“We’re only here a week, it’ll be fine. If they hear us fucking all the time, what’ll they think of me?”

“It doesn’t matter what they think,” Gabe assured him, pressing a quick kiss to William’s lips, still partly covered in coagulating blood. “It’s not like they could break us up. We’re adults. I don’t have to listen to _anything_ he says about you.”

“Good.” William kissed him quickly in return. “That’s what I want to hear.” And then they kissed again, long enough to make any potential doubts silenced.

“Gabe, I already cleaned your sheets the other day. You don’t need to wash them,” Ilana said, as soon as she saw Gabe carrying a laundry basket through the kitchen.

“I need to wash them again,” Gabe said. “I… uh, spilled something on them.”

“What’d you spill?”

“Nothing,” Gabe quickly said. Before he could walk away, Ilana dropped the rag on the counter she had been using to clean away any last bits of chametz before Passover and stopped Gabe in his tracks. “No, you don’t need to—”

“Is that _blood?_ ” The white sheets couldn’t hide everything. “Oy vey, _Gabe,_ what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“What happened?”

“ _Nothing._ ” Gabe tried to step forward past her, but Ilana didn’t budge. There was no reasonable explanation he could think of for a few seconds, until he finally sighed and said, “Um, William’s been having a tough time lately, and last night, he cut—”

“Oh!” Ilana immediately was apologetic. “I had no idea! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know he—”

“It’s fine, It’s just something you shouldn’t bring up—”

“Of course not, I feel so awful. Is he doing okay? Anything we can do to make him feel more at home? Oh, is it because of how your father acted last night? Because if it is, I can—”

“No, no, it isn’t,” Gabe quickly assured her. “Last night just wasn’t a good night. He’s been really good otherwise. So if you see any blood anywhere…”

“Of course. I won’t say anything about it. And I’ll tell Diego to be gentler on him.”

“Thank you so much,” Gabe said, feigning gratitude, and Ilana let him by.

When evening arrived, they sat down at the table and lit the candles. The table had been set for the Passover seder, with each seat having a Haggadah and a glass of wine. In the center of the table was an ornate plate with a bone, charoset, bitter herbs, parsley, and a hard-boiled egg, along with an extra glass of wine, a covered plate of matzah, a bowl of salt-water, and the rest of the food for the meal. It was just Gabe, William, Diego, Ilana, and Gabe’s younger brother, Adrian. The rest of the family would be at the second seder, which Gabe would be thankful for later because of the chaos that would unfold at this one.

Usually the huge amount of wine was Gabe’s favorite part of the seder, but when he sat down this time and saw the filled glass staring him down, he knew it would be telling if he didn’t partake because of his pregnancy. He opened his Haggadah in silence and picked up the wine glass with his right hand.

With the rest of the table, Gabe recited the blessing and shehechiyanu. His hand trembled as he held the glass.

And suddenly, it was finished and everyone else was drinking except for him. Gabe put the glass down still full, which was easily noticed.

“Why didn’t you drink it?” Adrian asked innocently. Ilana hushed him, but it was too late and the obvious question they all thought had been brought up.

Gabe was silent and stared at the charoset instead. William held his hand under the table in an attempt to comfort him.

“You should tell them,” William whispered.

“Tell us what?” Diego asked.

Gabe was silent for another few seconds, gulped, and still staring down at the charoset to avoid the eyes he knew were on him, said, “I’m pregnant.”

Gabe glanced up, and by far, his father’s face was the most shocked, with widened eyes switching between looking at Gabe and William as he processed the information.

Finally, Gabe broke the deafening silence by saying, “William’s really supportive of raising the kid Jewish. Like, we’ll have a bris if it’s a boy and everything. And he has plenty of money to support the child.”

The silence remained. Eventually, Diego’s eyes settled on William with contempt and he said, “You got my son _pregnant?_ ”

“ _Papí—_ ” Gabe tried to stop him, but it was to no avail.

“You son of a bitch!” Diego yelled at William. “You should have been more responsible! You two have only been dating for a few months and you _already_ got my son pregnant?!”

“Diego, calm down," Ilana tried.

“I have only known this William for a day and he’s gotten you pregnant!” Diego said to Gabe. “I told you I had a bad feeling about him, and you didn’t believe me.”

“It’s not his fault!” Gabe defended. “I didn’t even know I could get pregnant!”

“I told you to get tested, mijo—”

“But you said because of our family history I probably couldn’t!”

“I still told you to get tested! And even so, William, you should have been more responsible! Do you even know what a fucking condom is?”

“Diego, calm down,” Ilana intervened, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Not during the seder. Can’t we discuss this later?” Then she whispered something to him, and Diego immediately looked at William with sudden concern.

“What?” William asked. He repeated it, with a hint of tension in his voice. “ _What?_ ”

“Gabe told me that you…” Ilana started, but the sentence drifted off.

“That I what?” William turned to Gabe and pressed, “What the hell did you tell them?”

Gabe exhaled the breath he had been holding, and said all in a rush, “Thatyoucutyourself.”

“You…” William’s eyebrows narrowed. “You told them that I _cut_ myself?”

“I had to! The blood on the sheets!” Gabe buried his head in his hands, covering his eyes, inhaling a long breath, and after a few seconds began to sob. “I… I just…”

Before anything else could be said, Gabe shot up from his seat and ran out of the dining room.

“Gabe?” William stood at the door, opening it just slightly. “Can I come in?”

Gabe was curled up on his bed. Between tears, he choked out, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for," William said, entering his bedroom and shutting the door gently behind him. He made his way to the bed and laid himself down next to Gabe, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning in close. “You ok?”

Gabe nodded. “I didn’t think my dad would react _that_ badly to it, and I shouldn’t have told them you cut yourself, but… but I didn’t know what else to say. And now they probably think…”

“No, Gabe, it’s absolutely okay,” William reassured him, reaching up to brush away a tear from Gabe’s cheek with his thumb. “I’m actually really impressed you came up with the lie that I cut.”

“Really?”

“Really.” William smiled. “You lied to your own family about me to keep them from getting suspicious of me, like you promised. I don’t care if they think that I cut myself so they don’t start getting the idea I’m a vampire. And your dad actually seems sorry for me now. He kept apologizing to me after you left the table.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” William nodded. “He probably thought I was gonna kill myself after all that. Anyways, he said we can continue with the seder whenever you’re ready if you’re still up for it.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. “I’ll go back downstairs soon. Can you hand me a tissue?”

William turned over, grabbed a box of tissues from the bedside table, and placed it between them. Gabe took a handful of tissues and blew his nose, then sat up. “I’m going to the bathroom to clean up a bit. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Sure, babe.”

Gabe left the room, and William laid on the bed for a few seconds before he got up and decided to start rummaging around through Gabe’s old stuff. He hadn’t been left alone in Gabe’s room until now and it was incredibly tempting to look around just out of curiosity.

William wandered around the room, reading the titles of books on the shelf and leafing through a stack of old CDs. Then he got to the closet, and although he knew Gabe would probably be getting back from the bathroom at any moment, he took no heed of that fact and pulled open the closet anyway. Besides for a few old shirts left on the hangers, there were just piles of boxes on the floor and top shelf.

He took a cardboard box from the top shelf, which stood out being it hadn’t yet gathered dust, and opened the flaps, revealing the contents. When he saw what was inside, William swiftly knelt down and put the box on the floor to sort through it with a sense of urgency.

There were cut-out newspaper articles with used tape on the corners, all with headlines about the Dandies and William himself. There were printed-out pictures of William, the few that had been leaked to the internet of him over a decade earlier when he had been a human with vaguely-remembered friends or sitting on a counter while sunlight poured in a window that glowed on his skin and glistened in his innocent eyes. There was William’s framed mugshot of him with a cocky grin that had still dripped with blood. There were wrinkled and folded maps of Chicago and a stolen library book about vampires with the bookmarked page about William’s reign of Chicago being heavily annotated. And lastly, a piece of lined paper that had written on it, _Gabe Beckett, Gabriel Eduardo Beckett, Gabriel Eduardo Saporta-Beckett,_ and so on.

As William looked through, becoming aware that the extent of Gabe’s obsession with vampires and _him_ stretched further than he had been led to believe, he smiled. It was actually cute, to see Gabe’s infatuation through such a collection of objects that had been amassing since high school. It quite well explained all the stray bits of tape and empty nails on the mostly bare walls. To see Gabe’s level of captivation with him years before they had met sent a lovely and warm feeling through William as he admired each thing.

After a few minutes of looking, he heard footsteps in the hallway and William quickly shoved everything back into the box without bothering to close it and pushed it back into the closet. He quickly shut the closet and ran back to sit on the bed before Gabe came back in.

Gabe had seemingly recovered. His face showed no signs that he had been crying minutes earlier. “I think I’m ready to go back downstairs for the seder.”

“Okay.” William hopped off the bed and took Gabe’s hand, grinning while saying, “I love you.”

“Huh?” He was taken aback by the sudden adoration that gushed through his boyfriend’s voice.

“I just love you.” William giggled, wrapping his arms around Gabe’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “And our baby. I just love you so much, Gabanti, and I just wanted to tell you that. You’re really cute.”

Gabe was still confused by his behavior, but smiled anyway and returned the kiss on the cheek. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:  
> They had just stopped in front of the car and Diego broke the silence by asking, “Does your boyfriend understand Spanish?”
> 
> “No.”
> 
> “I have a bad feeling about him.”
> 
> “ _Papí,_ you just met him.” Gabe sighed. William, holding their luggage and confused, looked between the two of them while Ilana frowned. “I know he's not Jewish, but...”
> 
> “Not that.” Diego then turned to William. “I’ll put the suitcases in the car for you.”
> 
> “Oh, thank you.” William handed the suitcases to him with a friendly and well-meaning smile, which wasn’t returned.
> 
> Gabe followed his father, lugging the suitcases to the back of the car, while Ilana and William got in. “Why don't you like him?” Gabe pressed. He was completely clueless as to his sudden dislike of William. “You seemed happy on the phone. What suddenly changed?”
> 
> “You described him differently.”
> 
> “What's different?”
> 
> “Everything.” Diego lifted the last suitcase into the back of the car. “Gabriel, I have a bad feeling in my gut.”
> 
> “You don't know him.”
> 
> “And you do?” Diego shook his head. “I swear that I've seen his face somewhere.”
> 
> “That's _ridiculous._ ”
> 
> “We'll see how he behaves this week.” He slammed the car trunk closed. “I'm even scared of the way he looks at you.”
> 
> “Like how?”
> 
> “You don't see it?”
> 
> \-------------------------------------------------
> 
> damn sure hope this doesn't get any more chaotic soon haha
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a longer one (nearly 4000 words which I can't believe) so get comfy!

William thought he had perfected the art of pretending to eat, but when the time came to _actually_ eat during the seder, he couldn’t really hide the fact he was only picking at the matzah ball soup from Gabe’s family who, being Jewish, used every opportunity to shove more food at him. So he swallowed one bite, since he didn’t want Gabe to lie again that he also had an eating disorder or something, managed to keep himself from gagging, and decided engaging in conversation would be the best distraction.

However, conversation brought questions, and although Diego was being more cordial, it didn’t curb him from asking things like, “Gabe mentioned you have enough money to support your child, didn’t he? How much?”

“ _Papí,_ you can’t just ask that.”

William took a sip of wine first, building up the anticipation, and then said, “More than enough. Last time I checked, I’ve got almost ten million in the bank.”

Diego spat out his wine across his plate. “¡Dios mío!”

Meanwhile, Gabe hadn’t known exactly how rich William was until now, and even though he knew it was a lot, he had no idea it was _ten million._ Gabe choked on the water he had been sipping, coughing a few times. When he finished, he turned to William incredulously and exclaimed, “Bilvy!”

William was unphased by everyone’s shocked faces and took another sip of wine. “I already set aside some savings for the baby in an account, if you don’t mind. I’ve been meaning to discuss it with you, Gabe.”

Gabe didn’t say anything out of pure, unadulterated shock. He was a college student who, before William, usually had just a few dollars to his name, and now he just so happened to be dating a multimillionaire vampire.

“What exactly _is_ your job?” Diego questioned. He was certainly suspicious, as anyone would of someone appearing to be so young and already having such a fortune.

“I have many enterprises,” William simply said, leaving it at that. That answer wasn’t good enough for anyone, but the shock of ten million dollars kept their mouths shut.

“What did you _mean_ by ‘many enterprises?'” Gabe demanded once they were back in the privacy of his bedroom after they finished the seder. “Where did you _get_ all that money?”

“Not legally,” William said. “Is that answer good enough for you?”

“ _How?_ What illegal shit are you doing?”

“Nothing more illegal than murder.” William shrugged, sitting down on the bed. “I inherited it from the guy who turned me after I killed him. The rest of it I’ve accumulated from drug smuggling or ransom. I keep most of it in the Swiss bank so it can’t be traced back to me, so there’s really nothing to be worried about.”

Gabe sat down next to him. “You’re absolutely sure?”

“Of course, Gabanti.” William kissed him, but it stopped just as soon as it began when his phone started ringing. “I swear, if it’s… oh, it’s Brendon. Is it ok if I take it?”

“Go ahead.”

William answered the call and brought the phone to his ear. “Brendon, it better be— oh. I see. Is it anyone I care about? You _have_ to be kidding. It’s all your own fault, I told you not to hunt in that area— I don’t care, you know I’ve told you that area has cops that are actually competent at their jobs. Do I really need to— fine, yeah, I can fly back tomorrow night. Okay, see you tomorrow then.”

“Why do you have to fly back?” Gabe asked as soon as he hung up.

“Carden practically let himself get arrested.” William sighed. “Shame. I thought he’s supposed to be one of the smarter ones. I’m gonna have to fly back to Chicago tomorrow night so we can figure out how to get him out. I’m so sorry, I really wish I didn’t have to when I’m only just meeting your family, but every time I try to leave for just a bit the Dandies fuck up somehow.”

“I’ll come back with you,” Gabe told him, grasping his hand. “I don’t want you to travel alone.”

“Are you sure? You’ve still got an entire week of break, and you’re celebrating Passover with your family, and I don’t want them to think—”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going back with you. I don’t want you to be alone if a TSA agent recognizes you or something. And I don’t think I could deal with my family badgering about the pregnancy alone. I don’t care what they think of us if we leave suddenly. I’ve said it before, their opinion doesn’t matter.”

“If you insist.” William quickly kissed him on the lips. “I’ll buy two tickets.”

Diego begrudgingly drove them to the airport the next night after the family finished their second seder. He clearly wasn’t happy about the fact that Gabe was being dragged back to Chicago by William only several days after they arrived. He kept interrogating William about why he had to go back so suddenly, and when he was tight-lipped and said it was only business, Diego’s disapproval only returned much stronger. When he dropped them off at the front of the airport, he didn’t bother giving William any sort of goodbye. He only hugged Gabe, asked in Spanish if he was _absolutely_ sure about leaving so early, and promptly left with only a distrustful glare at William that was a threat on its own.

Somehow, they managed to get through TSA again with William’s fake passport and accent without any trouble yet again, and they started on their way to their gate. As they walked through the airport, however, it should have been expected they would attract attention from at least one person. There was a tap on William’s shoulder, and when he stopped and turned around to see who it was, it was some meek teenage girl.

“What?” William asked, narrowing an eyebrow at her. Gabe quickly let go of his hand.

“Are you… like, _the_ real William Beckett?” she asked, fidgeting excitedly. “I’m a really, really big fan!”

Gabe was about to tell her to fuck off, but surprisingly, William smiled and said, “Yeah, that’s me. Just keep it quiet.” This happened quite often, and he was used to it.

“Oh, yeah, sure! Oh my _gosh,_ I can’t believe it’s actually you! This is so cool! Can we take a picture together or something?”

“I don’t do pictures. But I can sign something.”

The fangirl eagerly dug through her carry-on for a pen and ripped a piece of blank paper out of a sketchbook for William to sign. As he did, the fangirl glanced at Gabe, and asked, “Are you also a Dandy? I don’t think I’ve seen you on the news before. Oh my gosh, are you guys _dating?_ ”

“No. I’m just a human friend,” Gabe denied, even though they had been holding hands moments earlier and it was probably obvious they were romantically involved.

“You sound familiar.” She said. “Wait, do you have a vampire Tumblr too?”

“No.”

“Wait, I know! You’re njbeckettfan!” she finally realized. “Dude, I’m bilvy420! We were mutuals! We like, called each other a few times. Why’d you delete your account? Your posts were _so_ fucking relatable! You were literally an icon, like you actually were able to go to college in Chicago and now you know William Beckett!”

William had finished signing the piece of paper, but it was cute to see Gabe all flustered because she had figured out his identity, so he kept the signed paper for now to prolong the interaction.

“I… um…” Gabe looked over at William to gauge his reaction, and judging by the way he was smiling at the way Gabe blushed, he was enjoying it. “Um… yeah. I am. I deleted it because… I don’t know… I’m just past that kind of stuff now.”

“I can’t _believe_ you’re with the actual William Beckett! How did you guys meet? Are you sure you guys aren’t dating, because—”

“We should go to our gate,” Gabe interrupted. “I don’t wanna be late for our flight. Nice meeting you.”

William handed the signed sheet of paper to her, and said, “It was absolutely lovely meeting you as well.”

“Thank you so much!” she squealed, hugging the signed paper to her chest. “It was so cool to meet you! And it’s also so cool to meet you, njbeckettfan! I can’t wait to post about—”

“Don’t post about it,” Gabe quickly said. His eyes were as wide with fear as a deer in headlights, bracing for impact. “Please don’t. I don’t want anyone to know we were here or that I know William.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” She actually seemed confused. “You’re actually so lucky, and if I was you, I would be bragging about it forever!”

“Don’t post about it,” William reaffirmed. His smile faded and his expression grew stern. “Nobody is to know where you found us and that njbeckettfan knows me. Got it?”

“Of course!” she easily agreed. Her voice was all too cheery and false. “Anything for you!”

William didn’t say goodbye to her, he just took Gabe’s hand again and quickly walked away with him in the direction of their gate.

“So, you had a vampire fucker Tumblr?” William asked with a coy smile. “You never told me about that.”

“Yeah...” Gabe admitted. He thought once he had deleted his account that no traces of that past phase he held confidential would reappear, but he was wrong. His blog did have a dedicated following since he had been posting for so long and he should have expected some ripple from getting rid of it, just not for William to find out from bilvy420 herself. “I’m sorry. I know it’s weird.”

“No, it’s cute,” William insisted. “I think it’s adorable you had a fan account for me.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.” They stepped onto an escalator, and as they rode up, William turned to face Gabe and rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand. He leaned in closer, placing his other hand on Gabe’s hip, and whispered, “You know I love that you have a thing for my vampire shit.”

“I just… I don’t know. If you saw what I posted, you’d judge me.”

“Gabanti, you’ve seen me kill someone. I’ve used your blood as lube. I can’t possibly judge you. Tell me what kind of stuff you posted.”

They reached the top of the escalator and continued walking. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

They reached their gate and took a seat. When Gabe was sure nobody else was in close enough proximity to hear their conversation, he finally said timidly, “It was stuff like… ‘Here’s security camera footage of Bilvy killing someone yesterday, I lowkey wish that was me because he’s so hot’ or random shit about how much I wanted you to fuck me or something.” Of course there was more to it than that, but Gabe didn’t go into further detail.

William's smile blossomed. “Aw! Gabe, I love that! That’s adorable!”

“You don’t think it’s weird?”

“No. I think it’s really cute.” William leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, “Can we fuck when we get to my place? After all that Carden shit is taken care of, of course.”

Gabe’s blush grew redder. “Yeah.”

William placed his hand on the side of Gabe’s thigh, and continued to whisper, “Imagine me walking in, covered in blood from all the people I killed, and pinning you against the wall and kissing you. Doesn’t that sound good, Gabanti?”

Gabe’s breath hitched. “Yeah. Please, honestly.”

“I thought so.”

Once they arrived at the Dandies’ house after the flight that was painstakingly longer than the first one, William’s demeanor became serious and he started ordering Dandies around while Gabe watched in awe. Basically, the plan was to just run into the police station where Carden was being held and simply kill all the police officers they found there.

“And Brendon, you’ll stay here with Gabe,” William had said.

Gabe could tell Brendon craved violence just as much as the rest of them, but he obeyed and didn’t put up a protest. So when the Dandies left after William had given Gabe a kiss goodbye, Gabe and Brendon sat on the couch while watching a movie.

“They’re usually good at this kind of shit, right?”

“At what?” Brendon asked.

“Like, breaking people out of jail.”

“Yeah. William’s awesome at it. He always knows what he’s doing. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

And they went back to watching the movie, and a few minutes later, Brendon interrupted to ask, “So, what’s your plan with William?”

“Plan?”

“He usually doesn’t wait this long to turn people,” Brendon said. “I’m guessing you guys have talked about that already. He isn’t good at holding himself back.”

“He’ll turn me eventually. Just not right now.”

“Why not? I mean, you do actually want to be a vampire, right?”

“Of course. It’s just… reasons.”

“What sort of reasons?”

Gabe’s hands had rested on his stomach, but he moved them away in case how he constantly touched it out of instinct was suspicious. “So I can finish this semester.”

“Oh, yeah, makes sense.”

They kept watching the movie, but it was only a minute before Brendon became curious again. “Do you really need to finish the semester, though? Like, school’s not gonna matter that much when you’re turned.”

“I want to finish my degree at some point.”

“That’ll be hard when you’ll be William Beckett’s famous boyfriend.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

This time, they were able to continue watching the movie for more than several minutes, before Brendon reached for the remote, paused the movie, and turned to Gabe. “You’re not waiting for the semester to be over. Like honestly, from what I know about you, you’d jump at the first chance you got to be turned, and William would just do it. What’s the real reason?”

Gabe didn’t meet his eyes. Although what he said was true, he wasn’t completely sure if William wanted any of the Dandies to know about the pregnancy yet, but Brendon had been so nice to him. After a few seconds of deliberation, he turned to Brendon and said, “You can’t tell anyone about this yet.”

“I swear I won’t,” he promised, quite genuinely.

“I’m pregnant.”

“He knocked you up?!” Brendon demanded. Gabe nodded. “Damn. That’s…”

While he struggled for words, Gabe simply responded, “I know. I’m a whore.”

“No you’re not!” Brendon protested. “I mean, if it’s anyone’s fault, which it isn’t, it’s William’s. He can’t keep his pants on.”

“True.” That was all Gabe was able to say. For some reason he couldn’t explain, what Pete had said to him was haunting. And while he was genuinely ecstatic to be starting a family with William, it still was painful to be faced with the blunt judgement of someone whose opinion he thought he didn’t care about.

“So… are you keeping it?”

“Yeah.” Gabe tried to dispel his previous thoughts by throwing himself into the conversation. “The first ultrasound is next week. We’re really excited.”

“Congrats, dude!” A smile grew on Brendon’s face, which eased Gabe’s anxiety from thinking about Pete’s harshness. “That’s so cool! I’m so hyped for like, a cute little Dandy baby around the house. Can I be called Uncle Brendon?”

“I mean… I have no problem with it, but you probably should ask William.”

“Yeah. Hopefully he’ll be fine with it. I mean, the baby’s probably gonna have family on your side, but on William’s, the Dandies are pretty much his only family after he cut his own off. Did he ever tell you about that?”

Gabe hadn’t been told specifically by William, but he did know that whatever relationship William had with his family was rough. He knew the Beckett family had to put their social media accounts on private after fans found and annoyed them with intrusive comments and messages. Even after that, fans still persisted. Their address was leaked and it became a trend to go to take pictures in front of the house where William had grown up. Gabe may or may not have participated in that trend, dragging Ryland along to take a picture of himself that he’d later post on Tumblr with his face blurred out, and fled when who he suspected was William’s younger sister, Courtney, threatened to call the police if they didn’t leave. “No. I don’t think so.”

“He pretty much abandoned them for a while when he was turned, which is what most people do if they don’t think they’re unique like some kind of Pete Wentz, and since William became famous, they just tried to forget about him. Which didn’t really work, because all those insane fangirls annoy them to hell, but I guess the details of it are for William to tell you. Point is, your kid’s not gonna have any family from William’s side besides Dandies, so I want to be an uncle. I’ll babysit and everything. And protect the baby with my life, obviously.”

“Sure, as long as William’s fine with it,” Gabe agreed. It was definitely refreshing to be telling someone who was being more supportive than his dad, than Ryland, than Pete. “I’m glad you’re so happy about it. Other people haven’t been… receptive to the news.”

“Of course I’m happy for you guys!” Brendon said. “You’re practically one of us now.”

The Dandies stormed the police station at around 1:30 A.M. William alone had made a dramatic entrance through the front doors, and while everyone was distracted gawking at him, the rest of the Dandies ran in from behind him, crashing through windows, barreling through back entrances, until they flooded the station. They easily overtook anyone that came in their path, dropping bodies and blood every which way as a trail through the hallway until they reached the padlocked cell where Mike Carden was being held and broke him out.

It was no wonder Chicago had a police officer shortage these days.

After William had given Carden a light scolding for being arrested, they returned to the house. William made a beeline to the living room, where Gabe and Brendon were watching their movie.

“We got him out.” William grinned. Gabe looked up at him and saw his blood-soaked clothing and hair, his smile dripping with red, his eyes frenzied with thrill. “My room?”

Gabe sprung off the couch to hug him, saying, “I love you,” and while he did, William lifted him up into his arms, getting a giggle from Gabe when he did, and quickly carried him upstairs to his bedroom.

Once they were inside William’s room, he laid Gabe down on the bed and crawled over him, kissing him. The drying blood on his lips tasted sweet and warm on Gabe’s tongue.

“I didn’t forget what I said to you in the airport.” William broke away from the kiss to say, and he leaned into Gabe’s neck, whispering, “I’m gonna fuck you so hard, baby.”

“You said you’d pin me against the wall, though.”

“You still want me to?”

“Yeah, I really expected to be fucked against a wall.”

William sat up and lifted Gabe’s legs around his waist while Gabe wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He got off the bed and backed Gabe up against the wall, pressing himself close to his chest, and kissed him. Gabe played with William’s hair as he did, coiling the long strands around his fingers. Once William had his fill of kissing, he bit into Gabe’s neck, because while he did have more than plenty to drink tonight, the pregnancy hormones in Gabe’s blood were practically addictive.

As William lapped up Gabe’s blood, Gabe’s legs wrapped tighter on his waist. Gabe’s head sank into the wall behind him while he moaned in pleasure at the beautifully painful feeling.

“Oh, shit, that’s good,” Gabe mumbled under his breath, while William drank one last gulp of blood and then emerged from his neck to kiss him again. The kiss quickly became needy and in his desperation, William pushed himself against Gabe until there was not an inch of space between them aside of the fabric of their clothes and grinded into him. With every thrust, he could feel the sharp inhales and exhales of pleasure from between Gabe’s lips as they kissed, and it only inspired William to keep going.

Gabe broke from the kiss, and said, “Bilvy, if you keep-- _mierda--_ I’m gonna come. You gotta fuck me.”

“Beg me.”

“I need you to fuck me. I want you to use my blood again to fuck me, I need it, please, I need it so fucking much!”

With a satisfied smirk, William let Gabe off of his hips for a moment so they could hurriedly take off their pants. Once they were bare from the waist-down, William pulled Gabe back up into his grip again and held him up with one arm under his leg, supported by the wall, while he bit into Gabe’s wrist. He took the blood into his mouth and spit it onto his hand, then inserted his fingers into Gabe to stretch him.

“You like this, Gabanti?” William asked, his forehead pressed against Gabe’s. He could feel the hot breaths against his cold skin. “You like seeing me covered in blood, you like being fucked with my bloody fingers that I just used to kill, don’t you?”

“Fuck yeah.”

“You’re such a good slut for me, aren’t you?”

“I’d do anything for you, Bilvy, I’d do fucking anything. I love you so fucking much, I’d do anything, I love you so-- oh, fuck, that’s the spot, _fuck!_ ”

“You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes, fuck me!”

William took his fingers out and, gripping Gabe’s thighs and bracing him against the wall as securely as he could, he positioned themselves. Once they had aligned themselves correctly, William thrust himself into Gabe without warning, eliciting a breathy cry of a moan from Gabe.

“You like that?” William started to snap his hips in and out, building up a rhythm.

“Yes!” Gabe gasped out. “Fuck me harder! Oh, fuck, I love you, I love you so much!”

William kept thrusting, going in faster and rougher and each one making Gabe cry out louder with pleasure, with the occasional thump against the wall. Eventually, with one more hard thrust, Gabe came. As the orgasm overcame him, his legs suddenly became weak and trembled around William’s hips, and he would have fallen if William didn’t push him against the wall firmer and engulf his lips with a sloppy, needy kiss that captured all the sinful noises from Gabe’s mouth. With a few more thrusts, William came too with a hiss against Gabe’s lips.

When William finished his orgasm, he took himself out of Gabe and gently lowered his legs until his feet touched the ground. Gabe leaned into him, keeping his arms around his neck and catching his breath while his legs ached.

For now, he had forgotten everyone’s judgements and could just spend time in the present, basking in William’s numbing embrace, before he had to endure any more chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Of course William being more shady to Gabe's family probably doesn't help their situation lol
> 
> Probably won't publish another chapter until after Passover so if you're Jewish, chag Pesach sameach!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me but there is more Spanish in this chapter, there won't be more for a few chapters though (I think) because I feel bad making you guys go to the bottom to read translations. So yeah, translation is in the end notes!!

When the break ended, Ryland walked into his dorm room to see Gabe pushing thumbtacks into the map on the wall to catch up on everything since he had left.

“Hey!” Gabe waved to him. “I need your opinion. What should I do with pink thumbtacks that are out of state?”

“I thought you were joking when you said you’d bring William to Jersey!” Ryland dragged his suitcase in and plopped it on his bed with a sigh. “Did you actually?”

“Yeah. Where should I put the pink thumbtack?”

“Maybe the border of the map? How didn’t _anyone_ realize he was William Beckett?”

“Fake passport and accent at the airport. Only a fangirl recognized him.” Gabe meticulously pushed a pink thumbtack in the border of the map, and continued to put a pink thumbtack on the Dandies’ house. “Besides that, nobody in Jersey knows enough about Chicago vampire shit to recognize him, including my dad.”

“Didn’t you used to like, have pictures of William hung up in your room? How didn’t he recognize him from those?”

“That’s ridiculous. I never hung pictures of William in my room.”

“You were telling me at the beginning of the year you would have brought them if you had enough room in your suitcase.”

“Never happened.”

Ryland shrugged and unzipped his suitcase to start unpacking. A minute later, he asked, “So… did you tell your dad about the… _you know._ ”

“The baby?”

“Yeah. How’d he take it?”

“Not great obviously, but it doesn’t matter.” Gabe was unaffected by the memory, continuing to push in thumbtacks. “It could have gone better. He doesn’t like William, obviously, but I don’t care.”

“Seriously, though, aren’t you worried about him finding out? Like, it’s not that uncommon to see William on national news.”

“I doubt he will.”

“You can’t just act like you don’t care, dude.” Ryland threw down a pile of folded clothes. “You are literally dating _William Beckett_ and he literally got you… you know, and you’re being way too casual about it. Shit’s gonna happen, Gabe.”

“It’s going to be fine.” Gabe put in the last thumbtack, finishing the sea of red and blue and pink engulfing the map.

“Didn’t you hear he killed an entire police station last week? The cops are really gonna be after his ass now.”

“He does stuff like that all the time.”

“Not on _that_ scale!”

“It’ll be fine, he knows what he’s doing.”

Ryland gave up on trying and sighed in defeat. “If you really think so.”

“That’s the baby.” The nurse pointed at the screen, at the white, fuzzy blob while she held the wand to Gabe’s stomach. “Looks like you’re about nine weeks!”

“Woah.” Gabe gasped, staring at the screen in awe. That was it; him and William’s baby, a bean-shaped blur he’d be holding in his arms in the seemingly-far future. “Nine weeks? No way.” He didn’t expect to be so far along already, meaning he had gotten pregnant on their first date.

“That’s what the baby’s looking like," she said. “Do you want pictures?”

“Sure.”

As soon as Gabe left the appointment, he texted pictures of the photos to William, hoping he would happen to be awake in the middle of the afternoon to see them as soon as possible. Right as he was about to start the car, he received a text from William, _i can’t believe it!!! 9 weeks!! ily and the baby so much <3 _

Gabe texted back, _ily too! they said the due date is December 20th <3 _

After he finished texting him, Gabe decided it might be a good idea to send the pictures to his father as well and then he started the car to drive back to the dorm.

“I got ultrasound pictures!” Gabe exclaimed at Ryland when he ran back into the room. “Do you wanna see?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Ryland closed his laptop.

Gabe took the photos from the envelope and handed them to Ryland. “That’s the baby! It’s 9 weeks! Aren’t they so cute?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Ryland looked over the pictures. Gabe could tell his mind was preoccupied by something else. “I don’t want to ruin the moment for you, Gabe, but…” He handed the pictures back to him. “Have you heard there’s been rumors going around about William Beckett’s boyfriend?”

“About _what?_ ”

Ryland grabbed his laptop and opened it again, showing Gabe the Tumblr post he had opened in his browser. It was by bilvy420, fangirling that she had met William Beckett at the airport and his boyfriend, who she claimed just so happened to be the well-known njbeckettfan. And when everyone asked for proof, she provided it with a picture of the autograph from William and pictures she snuck before approaching them, when they had been holding hands. Neither of their faces were in it since the pictures were cut off around their chins, but you could clearly tell it was William Beckett by his long hair and slim figure.

“Dios.” Gabe sucked in a breath. “I told her… I swear, we _told_ her not to say anything. I thought she’d listen to William, but I should have known—”

“I think it’ll be fine. Nobody can really connect you to that account anymore, can they?”

“No, I guess not,” Gabe said. “Okay. So maybe it’s not _that_ bad. Might just have to be a little bit more careful being in public with William, I guess.”

“Also… Vicky and Nate and Alex might have seen it and realized your boyfriend, William, is William Beckett?”

“They… _fuck,_ no!” Gabe struggled for words. “You didn’t show it to them, did you?”

“No, they put it together on their own.”

“Damn it.” Gabe’s anger turned to anxiety. “What do they think? They’re not going to call the cops, are they?”

“I convinced them not to call them for now, which you owe me coffee for by the way, but they want to talk to you about this. Might be a good time to mention to Alex and Nate that you’re also… you know.”

“Fuck. _Fine._ I guess we’ll set something up to talk with them.” Gabe sat down at his desk and took out a textbook to finish his government reading before he had class that night. “Should we get coffee with them? Although that might be too public if they wanna be loud about it. Could we just invite them to come here?”

“Sounds fine.”

Gabe was about to say more, but his phone started to ring with a call, vibrating itself around on the desk. He quickly picked up once he saw it was his father calling.

“¿Papí, viste los fotos?” Gabe eagerly asked, assuming the ultrasound pictures were what he called about.

“Sí.” Diego’s blunt tone barely matched Gabe’s. Whatever he was calling about, it was serious. “Pero te llamé a preguntar, ¿por qué estoy agarrando el _foto policial_ de _William?_ ”

Gabe’s smile dropped and his face paled. “¿Qué?”

“¡Descubrí, en tu placard, una caja de fotos y artículos de tu novio, William _Beckett,_ el vampiro!”

The smartphone fell from Gabe’s hand, clattering to the desk.

“Gabe?” Ryland asked, looking over. “You okay?”

Gabe shook his head and fumbled for the phone again. “¡¿Por qué estuviste en mi placard?!”

“El lavado de ropa. Gabe, ¿estás seguro que estás a salvo cuando estás saliendo con _William Beckett?_ Necesito llamar la policía—”

“¡No!” Gabe cried out. He began to comb his fingers through his hair. “Si llames la policía, tu nieto no tendrá un padre. Si llames la policía, no escucharán porque somos inmigrantes. No soy joven, sé qué estoy haciendo. No la puedes llamar, por favor, papí—”

“Gabriel—”

“¡No la llama, no la llama, por favor!” Gabe begged. “¡William me ama, William nunca me haría daño! Necesita matar a vivir. Tu nieto va ser un vampiro también, no puedes llamar la policía.”

There was silence for a few moments. As Gabe waited for his father to respond, he tried desperately not to break out in a sob by closing his eyes tight and biting his bottom lip. A tear still slipped through.

“¿Estás seguro?” Diego asked. “Tu novio es muy peligroso. _Muy_ peligroso. Es un _vampiro._ ¿Me estás escuchando?”

“Te escucho. Estoy seguro.”

“Then tell him I never want to see him in our house again.” His sudden switch to English felt cold. “I hope you realize you put all of us in danger by bringing him here!” With that, Diego hung up.

Gabe slammed his phone down on the desk, buried his head in his hands, and began to sob.

Ryland, knowing the gist of what was going from his limited high school Spanish class vocabulary, said, “I mean, you should just be glad he’s not calling the police. William got lucky.”

Gabe just cried harder. “Just shut the fuck up!”

He walked on eggshells for the rest of the day. Gabe ignored any texts for now from his friends while he went to class. He only needed William’s words, William’s comfort, William’s love, which was eagerly provided. The day had started off spectacular with the ultrasound showing a perfectly healthy baby, and now coalesced into the reveal of William’s identity to multiple people. But it didn’t matter, Gabe kept telling himself that William was _worth_ the risks, that their child was _worth_ the risks.

Gabe walked into his government class and made sure to take a seat far away from Pete. However, Pete noticed his entrance into the classroom, and made a beeline toward Gabe.

“You still being his slut?”

“Not today, Pete.” Gabe groaned, dropping his notebook on the desk with a thump.

Pete didn’t back off. He glanced down at Gabe’s stomach. Although Gabe was pretty sure he was nowhere close to noticeably showing yet, Pete was absolutely relentless and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You’re just gonna walk around showing off your mistake to everyone? Disgusting.”

Gabe crossed his arms over his stomach. “Just leave me alone.”

“Everyone’s gonna know you’re a whore,” he hissed before walking away.

Gabe only wore sweatshirts for the following week.

Even though it was only the five of them, the tiny dorm room still felt crowded with Gabe sitting on his own bed, Ryland and Alex on Ryland’s bed, Vicky sitting on a desk chair, and Nate lying in the middle of the floor for no other reason except that he liked the rug. Gabe, wearing a baggy sweatshirt and having his arms crossed in front of his stomach like usually he had for the last day, surveyed the room. All of them were staring at him, expecting him to be the first one to speak.

“So… I’m dating William Beckett,” Gabe said. “Thoughts?”

“Yeah, my thought is that you’re fucking stupid,” Nate said, glancing away from the ceiling at Gabe while he spoke. “Like, I know you have dumbass bitch energy, no offense, but _dating William Beckett?_ ”

“He is cute, though,” Vicky added. “You don’t get it because you’re heterosexual, Nate.”

“There’s a difference between him being cute and being complacent in dating someone who is basically a serial killer.”

“You guys met him, you know he’s not like that,” Gabe protested. “He’s actually really sweet, and caring and considerate… he only kills because he has to.”

“So he killed that entire police station because he _had_ to?”

Ryland nodded in agreement with Nate.

“Come on.” Gabe rolled his eyes. “He only did it because he had to break a Dandy out. I think it’s quite telling he’d do all that for one person. Police are pigs, anyway.”

“ _Quite telling_ indeed,” Nate mocked. “I think it’s sorta fucked up to kill about one and a half dozen people to break one dude out, personally. But that’s just me.”

Gabe pressed his lips tightly together. Nate clearly just didn’t understand. “Alex, what’s your opinion on this?”

Alex, who had been quiet this entire time, mumbled, “I don’t really want to pick a side.”

“You’re not picking a side, you’re just deciding whether you think it’s morally questionable for Gabe to be fucking a murderer.”

“ _Ryland,_ ” Vicky huffed.

“I don’t know,” Alex said. “I think it’s fine. I’m not gonna encourage it, but Gabe’s an adult who can make his own decisions. I think William’s proved himself to be more than capable of being an okay boyfriend.”

“You’re only saying that because he got you a paid internship through his connections in just a few minutes at the party.” Nate sat up. “I don’t think you guys understand the full gravity of the situation. You’re literally dating _William Beckett_ and none of us are doing anything about it. Gabe, haven’t you ever seen him kill or any of that sick shit he does?”

Completely straight-faced, Gabe said, “Yeah. There’s a video of it. I kissed him after he killed someone. That’s where the William Beckett boyfriend rumors started.”

Nate blinked. “You _what?_ ”

“Blood _is_ sorta hot, though,” Vicky said. “Not that it makes it okay or anything, but…”

“I can’t _believe_ you think this is okay.” Ryland sighed.

“I never said I thought it was okay, I just get where Gabe’s coming from--”

“This is enough.” Nate got to his feet and pointed to Gabe, although his shortness wasn’t very intimidating. “You’re going to break up with him or I’m calling the police. It is absolutely _fucked up_ you’re dating William Beckett!”

“I can’t do that.”

“What reason would be good enough for staying with that freak?”

“Vicky, get the pictures out of the top desk drawer,” Gabe told her. She did as he said, opening the drawer and picking up the envelope, which she slipped the thin stack of photos out of.

“Aw!” Vicky gasped, leafing through the several photos with a grin on her face and dazzled eyes. “That’s amazing!”

“What is?”

Vicky handed the pictures to Gabe, who, with a smirk, displayed them to the group. “I’m 9 weeks pregnant.”

The room fell silent. Alex just raised his eyebrows and then smiled awkwardly after a few seconds, saying, “Congrats, dude.”

Meanwhile, Nate was still processing his reaction as he gaped at the white blob.

“You can’t call the police,” Gabe stated. “Or you’re putting me and William’s child in danger. Who knows what they’d do? They could force me to have an abortion. They could ‘accidentally’ cause me to miscarry. They could rip our child away from us once they’re born. They could find some reason to send me back to Uruguay even though I’m a citizen. You don’t want any of that to happen, do you?”

“No.” Nate’s voice cracked. “No. I… never would want any of those. I won’t call the police. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“That’s okay.” Gabe slowly lowered the photos to his lap. “I’m glad you understand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:
> 
> “Dad, did you see the pictures?” Gabe eagerly asked, assuming the ultrasound pictures were what he called about.
> 
> “Yes.” Diego’s blunt tone barely matched Gabe’s. Whatever he was calling about, it was serious. “But I called you to ask, why am I holding _William's mugshot?_ ”
> 
> Gabe’s smile dropped and his face paled. “What?”
> 
> “I discovered, in your closet, a box of photos and articles of your boyfriend, William _Beckett,_ the vampire!”
> 
> The smartphone fell from Gabe’s hand, clattering to the desk.
> 
> “Gabe?” Ryland asked, looking over. “You okay?”
> 
> Gabe shook his head and fumbled for the phone again. “Why were you in my closet?!”
> 
> “Laundry. Gabe, are you sure that you're safe when you're dating _William Beckett?_ I need to call the police—”
> 
> “No!” Gabe cried out. He began to comb his fingers through his hair. “If you call the police, your grandchild won't have a father. If you call the police, they won't listen because we're immigrants. I'm not young, I know what I'm doing. You can't call them, please, Dad—”
> 
> “Gabriel—”
> 
> "Don't call them, don't call them, please!” Gabe begged. “William loves me, William would never hurt me! He needs to kill to live. Your grandchild is going to be a vampire too, you can't call the police.”
> 
> There was silence for a few moments. As Gabe waited for his father to respond, he tried desperately not to break out in a sob by closing his eyes tight and biting his bottom lip. A tear still slipped through.
> 
> “Are you sure?” Diego asked. “Your boyfriend is very dangerous. _Very_ dangerous. He's a _vampire._ Are you listening to me?”
> 
> “I hear you. I'm sure.”
> 
> “Then tell him I never want to see him in our house again.” His sudden switch to English felt cold. “I hope you realize you put all of us in danger by bringing him here!” With that, Diego hung up.
> 
> \---------------------------------------
> 
> And so the chaos begins! I feel bad for Gabe but at least he has some nice ultrasound pictures. It could go downhill from here, it could not... who knows, really? ;) Either way, I'm really excited to publish the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your nice comments on the last chapter, I almost cried because I was so happy. Anyways here's chapter 11 because I'd rather post than do my homework. Enjoy!
> 
> (also this chapter is also slightly Jewish because I can't help myself so nobody is confused: Hashem is one of the Jewish names for G-d, it literally means "the name" in Hebrew and it's probably the most common way to refer to G-d in everyday conversation, it's literally used only once in this chapter but just so you don't get confused)

“Is it true?” Ilana asked. She had finally returned Gabe’s calls while he was in William’s driveway. Gabe recently had resorted to trying to contact anyone else in the family including her and his brothers after his father had never picked up.

Gabe leaned into his carseat and, with a deep and drawn exhale, said, “Yes. I--”

“William’s no good for you,” she interrupted. “Can’t you see he’s just manipulating you? You lied to all of us. I know you would never do that. He made you do it.”

“William never made me do anything.”

“You can’t stay with him. I know your father came off as harsh, but he really does love you. We won’t call the police, we can buy you a flight back to New Jersey right away--”

“I don’t need a flight back!” Gabe protested. “I need you to understand that William isn’t as bad as the media makes him out to be! He’s really--”

“He’s a murderer, Gabe, do you really think this is what Hashem wants for you?”

“Don’t bring Him into this! Just give William another chance, he’s the father of my child and you have to deal with that.”

“Diego was right. You’re really in deep.” Ilana’s voice trembled. “He told me I should have just told you to stop trying to call any one of us and he was right. I thought I could convince what you’re doing is completely insane but you just won’t fucking _listen._ Don’t you dare try to contact us until you realize what you’re doing to yourself and your child by staying with that man!”

She hung up. Gabe, putting his phone back in his pocket and yanking the keys from the ignition, mumbled, “Shavua tov to you, too,” under his breath. After a deep breath, he made sure his baggy sweatshirt obscured the bump that had begun to grow in the last few weeks. It was still hard to notice and barely raised, but there was a clear difference when Gabe ran his fingers over it and enough so that he constantly felt Pete’s eyes watching it every time he sat down at the farthest end of the classroom.

William met him at the door, welcoming him in with a kiss and hug that Gabe desperately needed at that moment. Gabe didn’t say much while they picked out the movie they’d watch during that night to themselves, since William had finally let the Dandies hunt on their own since the incident so they could be completely alone.

They started the movie. Gabe tried to focus on how secure he felt wrapped in William’s arms instead of how his family was ashamed of him, instead of how Vicky was the only friend he’d had an actual conversation with since their meeting, instead of how Pete, after a class two nights ago, had told him it was clear he didn’t think about anything other than being William’s whore after Gabe fumbled over the answer to the professor’s question.

He couldn’t concentrate on the movie, not when he had all of his focus on keeping tears from brimming in his eyes. Gabe nestled his face into William’s shoulder to hide his face and tried not to inhale too loud.

William noticed and turned to Gabe. He asked gently, “You okay, Gabanti?”

Gabe’s face contorted and he shook his head. “No!” he cried out, letting go of a series of sobs.

William grabbed the remote to pause the movie and then pulled Gabe in closer to him. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“It… it’s stupid!” Gabe choked out.

“No, it’s not. Tell me, baby, what is it?”

“M...my family f-found out that you’re a… vampire, and they hate us, they think I p-put them all in danger by… by bringing you back to Jersey… and all my friends found out and everyone except Vicky thinks I’m… that I’m a freak!” Gabe sobbed. There was also the Pete part of it, but he didn’t dare mention him. “And I f-feel like everyone is judging me when they see that my stomach is starting to grow and that it’s j-just gross…”

“Oh, Gabanti, I’m sorry.” William cradled him in his arms. “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. None of it’s your fault, other people just don’t understand us. And your stomach isn’t gross, it’s beautiful. You’re carrying our baby, and if anyone wants to fucking judge you for that, I’d kill them in a heartbeat.” He pressed a kiss to Gabe’s tear-stained cheek. “You’re gorgeous. Can I see your stomach?”

Gabe considered it for a second, and then nodded, gasping out, “Yeah.”

William carefully lifted up Gabe’s sweatshirt and laid his hand on his slightly-curved stomach. “That’s our baby in there. You’ve been doing so good so far, and you’re going to be an amazing parent. Your family has no idea what they’re missing out on. I love you so much, and I love our baby so much already.” He lowered himself to kiss Gabe’s stomach, which made Gabe smile.

“I love you too.” Gabe sniffled. “You’re going to be a great dad, too.”

“Thank you.” William pressed his nose against Gabe’s stomach. “I can’t wait to meet our baby. When do you find out the gender?”

“Around sixteen weeks.”

“It’s gonna be a boy.”

“No way.” Gabe giggled. “Girl for sure. I feel like she’s a girl. I wish you could come to the ultrasound appointment. They never have any openings for the evenings.”

“I wish, too. But as long as you tell me right away when you find out it’s a boy--”

“Girl.”

“--whatever the baby is, I don’t care really as long as they’re healthy, then it’s okay.” William lingered against his stomach for a while longer, then raised himself back to face level again to keep hugging Gabe. “I’ll always be here for you and our baby.”

“I love you so much.” Gabe sniffled again. “Do you guys got tissues?”

“Yeah, I’ll grab some for you.” William raced off the couch, ran to the nearest closet, and came back with a box of tissues so Gabe could blow his nose.

Once he put aside the box of tissues, Gabe relaxed into William again.

“Can you bite me?” Gabe mumbled into William’s shoulder.

“What was that?” He had heard what he said clearly, but William loved hearing it again.

“Can you bite me?”

“Are you sure?” William asked, his fingers trailing up from Gabe’s hip and under his sweatshirt. “You know if I do, I’m gonna have to fuck you so _hard._ Is that what you want right now, baby? To be fucked so hard that the only thing you can think about is me?”

“Oh, yes.” Gabe shivered hearing him. He could hardly keep still, the grip of his hands where they tangled in William’s hair growing tighter. “Bilvy, _please._ I need you to fuck me hard.”

William got up and straddled Gabe, making sure to grind down against him as he did. “Mm, you look so good underneath me like this, so _slutty,_ don’t you?”

Upon hearing that word, Gabe broke down and started crying again. William immediately got off of him.

“I’m sorry, Gabe, wh—”

“It’s not you,” Gabe sobbed. “It’s… I don’t know… I just… I love it when you call me a slut, but… I just…”

William ran his fingers through Gabe’s hair gently and with his free hand stroked his cheek. “Baby, tell me, what’s wrong? I love you, I don’t want to see you like this.”

“It’s stupid.”

“Nothing you say can ever be stupid to me.”

“You swear?”

“I swear.” William reached over and handed the box of tissues back to him. “Tell me, Gabanti, what’s wrong?”

“It’s… It’s Pete.”

“Pete?” The tone of William’s voice became bitter. “What did he do? I swear, I’ll fucking—”

“He… he didn’t do anything, he just… when he found out I was pregnant, he just started calling me a whore and saying I don’t care about anything else except you and that I’m stupid and that the baby’s a mistake and…” He sobbed harder.

William was deadly silent for a second, until he demanded, “He _what?_ ”

Gabe just nodded and lifted a tissue to his nose.

“I swear, that motherfucker always gets on my nerves, but this? This is _too_ far. He’s crossed the fucking line!” William laughed. “Gabe, baby, everything he says is absolute _bullshit._ All he wants to do is think he’s better, like he thinks he’s _so_ good for running away from me.”

The tone of William’s voice sent chills down Gabe’s spine. He was almost afraid to speak. “I… I just don’t know if I can put up with him saying that stuff anymore…”

“Do you know his friend’s name? That stupid kid he was with when you threw up?”

“Patrick?”

“Him.” William nodded. “He seems quite attached to him, don’t you think?”

“Y...yeah.”

“It would be an awful shame if Patrick were to… be killed, wouldn’t it?” William asked, leaning down toward Gabe. “Don’t you think?”

Gabe’s heart leaped. “Yeah. It would be.”

“I can hear your heart rate picking up.” William commented. He leaned in even closer, whispering in his ear, “You like that idea, don’t you? I should kill Patrick. It’s what they deserve, don’t you think?”

“Yes.” His breath hitched.

“Imagine, me completely _drenched_ in his blood, dripping from head to toe. That would really show Pete and anyone who dares to mess with you, wouldn’t it?” William laid a hand on Gabe’s thigh and licked a stripe up his neck.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Gabe eagerly agreed. He couldn’t have cared less about Patrick, the innocent party in this situation. All that mattered was Pete getting what he deserved, but most importantly, the thought of William _killing_ someone just for him. “Shit, I need… Bilvy, I need you to…”

“Say it, darling,” William whispered against his neck, making Gabe jolt slightly. The hand on Gabe’s thigh travelled upward and made Gabe writhe desperately when William palmed him through his pants.

“I need you to bite me, I need you to fuck me so fucking badly--”

William straddled him again. “Is that what you want? For me to fuck you? To drink your blood? Is that what you want, baby?” He grinded down onto Gabe, who moaned loudly. “You want me to fuck you hard? You want me to stretch you with your blood until you’re _begging_ for my cock?”

“Dios, yes!” Gabe cried out. “I need you, Bilvy, I need you so fucking bad. I’m your slut!”

“Oh, damn right you are.” William leaned into Gabe’s neck, but just as Gabe thought he was about to bite, instead he whispered, “Tell me about all the times you’ve jacked off just thinking about me, about you being so pretty and good under _my_ control.”

“So many— _ah!_ ” A nip on his neck caused Gabe to moan and grind his hips upward for friction. “So many times. I jacked off to you so many times before we met, I would be in the shower, thinking about how fucking good it would feel for you to bite me and fuck me so hard, covered in blood.”

William nefariously smiled against his neck. “Oh, you’ve always been such a slut. You’re _my_ damn bitch, aren’t you, Gabe?”

Another nip against Gabe’s neck was unbearable. “Yes, just bite me, holy shit—”

“I want you to touch yourself while I bite you.” William got off of him and kneeled at his side, then swiftly unbuttoned Gabe’s pants. “Can you do that for me?”

Gabe pushed down his pants. “I’m gonna need—”

William bit into his neck, taking a quick gulp of his blood. The pent-up tension caused Gabe to cry out at the sting. After a few seconds, William grabbed Gabe’s hand and spat the blood onto it. “Touch yourself for me, _bitch,_ ” he hissed, warm blood dripping from his mouth onto Gabe’s ear.

Gabe wrapped his hand around his dick and started to jerk himself off. William watched for a few seconds, entranced by it, and then sank his fangs back into Gabe’s neck. As he drank, Gabe’s moans and cries for William caused his hands to roam underneath Gabe’s shirt and on his sensitive chest.

Once William had drank enough, he spat onto his own hand and added it to Gabe’s, following his motion to help him jerk off as he watched him with his bloodthirsty gaze.

“ _Fuck,_ ” Gabe moaned out. “I’m gonna—”

William stopped his hand, and hissed, “Not before I’m done with you.” He pried Gabe’s hand away and yanked off Gabe’s pants completely before taking off his own. “Spread your legs for me.”

Gabe did as he said. William got between and bit into his thigh for more blood, which he spat onto his hand yet again and used to stretch him. He was careful to avoid Gabe’s prostate as he stretched him.

Once he was done stretching and started to push himself in, William emitted a drawn-out moan. “You look so good for me like this.” He said as he admired Gabe. “Taking my dick so well, aren’t you?”

“I need you to fuck me hard, Bilvy, _please!_ ”

William was all the way in, and he snapped his hips back and then thrust forward quickly, causing a breathy cry from Gabe. “Like this?”

“ _Fuck,_ yes, more, please!”

He started to fuck him, building up to a fast rhythm that, once he hit Gabe’s prostate in exactly the right spot, caused Gabe to be moaning and arching his back, crying out William’s name and begging for him to fuck him harder, faster. When William saw he was close to his climax, he wrapped his hand around Gabe’s dick once more while he thrust himself in hard, causing Gabe to cry out, “ _¡Mierda,_ William!” when he came all over William’s bloody hand. After a few more thrusts, William came as well and slowly decreased his pace until he stopped and pulled out of Gabe.

Once he was done, William loomed over Gabe, pressing a bloody and needy kiss to his lips, and asked, “Did that make you feel better, babe?”

“Fuck yeah,” Gabe gasped out. “Honestly, fuck what everyone else said. I don’t care anymore. I only need _you._ ”

With a smirk, William kissed him again. “Good. That’s what I wanna hear.”

Gabe was officially now 12 weeks, and since he had broken down in front of William, Pete’s words no longer hurt the same as they had. Instead, Gabe was comforted by the thought that soon, they’d be killing Patrick.

They had come up with a plan, one that Gabe was more than happy to be involved in as he left his dorm room. He walked down the beige hallway to the elevator, knowing after tonight, Pete would _fear_ them.

And then Gabe’s confident thoughts were interrupted by Travie and Pete, who were standing at the vending machine in the hallway and having a little chit-chat.

Their backs were to Gabe, and he hoped that if he walked by fast enough, maybe they wouldn’t notice it was him. However, Travie, being the sickly sweet RA he was, stopped mid-sentence and turned to smile at Gabe.

“Hi Gabe!” Travie said. “Where are you off to?”

“Library.”

“Oh, this is my friend, P—”

“We know each other,” Pete said, glaring at Gabe. His eyes flickered down to his stomach for a second, the bump just barely visible through his shirt. “How’s the _pregnancy,_ Gabe?”

“The… the what?” Travie’s eyes grew wide.

“Going great, Pete.” Gabe grinned at Pete. He then looked over to Travie. “Yeah, I’m pregnant. I guess Pete must have forgotten to tell you because it’s _clearly_ his responsibility to. Anyways, I’ve got to go. Bye.”

As Gabe hurried past them, he caught Pete’s eye again. Gabe couldn’t help but innocently smile at him.

Gabe composed himself, taking a deep breath, and rang the doorbell. It was easy to get in contact after a quick google search of their hunting agency’s name. Gabe had called their number and pretended to cry to Patrick about wanting to escape his relationship and making him swear he wouldn’t tell anyone else, not even Pete, that he wanted to meet. Patrick was, of course, much less aware of the tricks William had up his sleeve and therefore less cautious when he gave Gabe their apartment address on the spot. He was a perfect target.

Patrick answered the door quickly, anticipating him. “Hey, Gabe. Nice to see you. Want to come in for a drink?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Gabe said. “Is a walk still fine so your roommates don’t overhear?”

“You’re sure there’s no Dandies in the area?”

“William said they’d all hunt downtown tonight.”

“Yeah, then a walk should still be fine. I’ll just grab the keys. We shouldn’t have to worry about Pete, he’s visiting one of his friends.” Patrick locked the door behind him, and they left on their walk around the block.

Gabe, feigning nervousness by how he dragged his feet when he stepped forward and pulling the sleeves of his sweatshirt over his wrists, took a light breath and asked, “Did Pete tell you I’m…”

“Pregnant? Yeah," Patrick said, and after gauging Gabe’s reaction, added, “He doesn’t know how to shut up sometimes. He means well, he can come across sometimes as…”

“Yeah.” Gabe hoped it didn’t sound too blunt. He wondered if Patrick would still think it was harmless if he knew Pete called him a whore. “He can be.”

“So, is getting pregnant what made you realize you wanted to get away from William?”

“Yeah. I guess… I just realized I don’t want my kid to turn out like him. I need to escape from him, but I just don’t know how when he’s so… so…”

“Manipulative, violent, emotionless, psychotic, egotistical?”

“Basically,” Gabe agreed. They were coming upon the corner where William patiently lay in wait to ambush Patrick.

“Well, we don’t _necessarily_ have experience in helping people get away from their vampire boyfriends, especially, like, ones as powerful as William Beckett, but I’ve got a few ideas of how we could—”

At that moment, they were turning the corner when Patrick was snatched by William. He barely had time to comprehend enough to fight him off. His alarmed scream was cut off when William threw him against the wall of a brick building, knocking him out cold.

“He’s unconscious already?” William sighed, shaking limp Patrick by his shoulders he held like he was a light, slumped doll. “What a shame.”

Gabe was secretly glad. Although he really didn’t care about Patrick very much, he was innocent (or as innocent as he could personally consider a vampire hunter to be) and it would probably be better for him not to experience the agony of being bled to death that William had planned. Gabe didn’t let his relief show; instead, he just stood and watched William drink Patrick’s blood in silence. Even though Gabe did feel just a tiny bit sorry for him, it was overshadowed by how hot William was when blood was dripping all over his lips. In the end, he could convince himself Patrick didn’t _really_ matter to him and it was worth seeing William like this.

Maybe.

When William had finished, he stuck his fingers on the gushing bite wound on Patrick’s neck and dropped his body to the ground. He got to his knees, and on the sidewalk, he started to write by dragging his bloody fingers across the pavement.

“What are you writing?” Gabe asked.

William finished a letter, and coated his fingers with Patrick’s blood once more by pressing against his wound. “You’ll see.”

For a few minutes, Gabe watched impatiently as William meticulously drew out his message in blood. When he finished, Gabe stepped next to William to read it. In blood it read: _Pete, fuck you._

“I think that’ll keep him off your back for a long time, won’t it?” William asked, admiring his handiwork.

“Yeah.” Gabe nodded. “Definitely.”

William got to his feet, gazing directly at Gabe as he leaned closer to his face. He placed his hand on his jaw with his thumb on Gabe’s lips, smearing blood onto them as William grinned with his red-tinted fangs.

“Pete’s going to stay away from you,” William stated. His thumb caressed Gabe’s bottom lip as he leaned his face in further so all Gabe saw clearly was the mesmerizing glint in his eyes. “Do you like seeing me like this, Gabanti?” he whispered. William licked Gabe’s lips with his blood-coated tongue. “You’d let me do _anything_ to you when I look like this.”

Gabe didn’t respond. He was entirely captivated. Finally, he said, “Fuck, I would.”

William kissed Gabe, letting him taste the bitterness in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I killed Patrick but it had to be done :(


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight bit of a short Spanish conversation in the chapter but as usual there'll be a translation in the end notes. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Patrick’s face was on the news, of course, and represented by one of many red thumbtacks on Gabe’s map.

Pete didn’t show up to Gabe’s next government class or the one after. Without him, education was serene. Sure, Gabe felt bad, but at least he could actually concentrate for once.

At the same time, rumors started to float around, whispered carefully by students into each other’s ears, who heard from so-and-so who heard from so-and-so that there had been something written in blood near Patrick’s body. Although it was a game of telephone, every jumbled version of the message written was always known to have been targeted toward Pete Wentz, most likely by William Beckett.

Finally, after a long day of classes, Ryland marched into him and Gabe’s dorm room and declared, “Gabe, you _really_ gotta get your boyfriend to stop killing people from our school. Everyone’s scared as shit!”

Gabe looked up from the paper he was writing on his laptop. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shrugged. “The guy that died two days ago didn’t go here.” And Gabe returned to his laptop and resumed typing his double-spaced train of thought about Sephardic philosophers, as if that would end the conversation.

“You know what I mean.” Ryland stopped next to Gabe’s desk, looming over as he leaned against it. “His friend, Pete, goes here. Is it true that there was something written in blood about him?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Gabe didn’t look up from the screen and kept typing. “I wasn’t there. What William does isn’t my business.”

“You’re just letting your boyfriend terrorize innocent people!”

“It’s not like I could stop him. Pete’s not innocent, anyway.”

“You could, but you don’t want to. And Pete’s a nice guy. He and his friend don’t deserve this, you know. I worked on a project with Pete last semester. He’s a great guy.”

“ _Great guy,_ ” Gabe mumbled, finishing the sentence he had been typing. He pressed enter to start a new paragraph. “Yeah,” He stabbed the tab key. “ _Sure._ ” 

“Oh, so how could _he_ be worse than your boyfriend?” Ryland asked doubtfully. “Enlighten me.”

“Maybe because Pete calls me a whore every time he sees me.”

Ryland laughed, clearly in disbelief. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” Gabe ceased typing and turned to him with an honest frown, hoping that would convince him. “And it really fucking sucks.”

“But that justifies killing someone?”

“Well, no, but it’s not like I came up with the idea, it was William, and he got pretty mad, and Pete’s already done shit before to make him deserve it, so I th—”

“Gabe.” Ryland sighed. “Look me in the damn eyes. Do you realize you’re trying to justify murder to me right now?”

“I’m _not_ justifying murder, like I feel sorry for Patrick and everything—”

“You don’t feel sorry. You’re justifying murder. _Murder._ ”

“I’m not!”

“You’re justifying murder!” Ryland yelled. “You’re really just putting up with this shit from your boyfriend? _Encouraging it?_ ”

Gabe picked up his cellphone and held it out to Ryland. “Call the police then. Call those fucking pigs.”

Ryland was silent, looking down at the phone, almost fearful of it.

“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you call them?” Gabe pushed out his desk chair, stood up, and looked him straight in the eyes. “But you won’t. Why not? Maybe I can call William and you can tell him yourself what you think.”

Ryland didn’t say a word. Gabe unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contact list until he got to William’s name, and he displayed the screen to Ryland.

“Go ahead.” Gabe innocently said, waving the phone in front of his face. “Call him.”

“I’m n—”

“Call him and tell him exactly what you th—”

“I’m not going to,” Ryland interrupted, scowling at the phone. The phone was lowered slowly as he spoke. “You fucking know why, Gabe? You want to know why nobody’s texting in the groupchat, why nobody’s talking to you except Vicky? One wrong move, just like Pete, and we’re fucking dead. We’re scared of your damn boyfriend and you should be, too.”

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing,” William said, looking up from his phone for a moment and then back down at it.

“ _Bilvy,_ ” Gabe whined, tugging his hand. They were walking out of the mall after seeing a movie late at night. “Tell me.”

“It’s none of your concern.” William’s voice suddenly became firm. He turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket.

“I was just asking, babe. You don’t need to get so defensive.”

“Because it really is none of your business.”

“You tell me everything.”

“And there’s some things I don’t need to.”

Gabe pulled his hand from William’s, disentangling their fingers, and turned to him, stopping them in their tracks. In the night air, the white foggy tendrils of it parted from Gabe’s lips while he spoke, the leftovers of winter that strayed into the last few cold days of late April. “Bilvy, you’ve got to tell me what it is. You’re never like this,” Gabe said, eyes pleading with him.

William avoided his eye contact, staring at a puddle in the parking lot for a second before he finally glanced up at Gabe. “You don’t want to know.”

“William, _tell me,_ ” Gabe urged.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” A smile William couldn’t help appeared on his face, but he quickly straightened it. “A few nights ago, I had an idea. Since your dad and Ilana are so close to calling the police, I was thinking of ways to get them to lay off, and I thought of… I thought…”

Gabe’s eyes welled with fear and his mouth gaped for a moment before he demanded, “Dios, William, what the _hell_ are you suggesting?!”

“I know you won’t like this, but I knew if I... _theoretically,_ if I were to happen to kill Adrian—”

“If _what?_ ” Gabe, incredulous, let out a choked and unbelieving laugh. “You… you’d fucking _kill_ my baby brother?”

“I was only thinking about it, I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to, not yet—”

“Damn it, William, you’ve crossed a fucking line!” Gabe hissed under his breath. “You really thought I would let something like _that_ slide? Killing my little brother because you think that’ll shut my parents up? You even lay a single finger on Adrian and I swear, I will stake you. Your own child won’t even know your damn _name!_ ”

“Gabanti...” William reached out slowly for his shoulder, but Gabe took a step back.

“You’re taking me back to my dorm right now. I’m not coming back to your house with you.”

William nodded, letting his hand fall in respect of his wish. “Okay.”

When Gabe arrived back in his dorm room after a completely silent drive, the air thick with tension between them, he paced the little space there was to walk as he waited for his father to pick up the phone. Second ring, third ring, fourth ring, he picked up. Before Diego could say anything, Gabe immediately cut him off.

“Papí, no me puedes llamar otra vez.” Gabe told him, rushing the words out.

“¿Qué pasa?” His voice, albeit panicked, would have been a relief if it wasn’t for the situation.

“No puedes saber. Estoy a salvo, no te preocupes. No me puedes llamar, ¿sí?”

“No comprendo—”

“Te quiero.” Gabe quickly hung up and blocked his and Ilana’s numbers, just as Diego was trying to call him back. He lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as the conversation repeated in his head.

A few minutes later, his older brother, Ricky, called. Gabe blocked his number too.

He knew that if he continued communicating with his family, he would only be putting them in more danger. Additionally, If Gabe wanted to stay with William and keep their child safe, he couldn’t risk his family’s involvement despite how hesitant they seemed to call the police.

He continued to stare at the ceiling for a few more minutes, until he felt some strange sensation in his stomach.

After a few seconds of confusion, he realized: the sensation was the baby _kicking._

Gabe had thought it felt real when he saw the first ultrasound, but no, now it actually felt _real._

He immediately sat up, elated and resting his hands on the bump. The excitedness, however, was short-lived, as Gabe realized that now, the baby and William were all he had left.

Pete returned to Gabe’s next class, his head hung low and his stature slumped. He walked as if he carried an invisible burden on his back. Gabe only caught his pitiful glance once before Pete bristled and averted his eyes.

Gabe tried to tell himself he didn’t feel guilty. Pete deserved it, of course he did.

He tried not to think about Pete while class went on. Finals were in a few short weeks and Gabe had to pay attention, but even so, Pete wallowing in his misery was so much more distracting. Gabe’s usually neat notes ended up veering off the lines on the paper of his notebook at some point.

When class ended, Gabe collected his things and got up to leave, but Pete came over before could he leave.

“Can we talk?” Pete asked. His voice was raspy and pained.

Gabe gulped. He knew he should say no and that was what William would tell him, but he also hadn’t talked to William since their argument last night. “Okay.”

In the hallway, in the corner by the vending machine, they stood across from each other.

“I don’t have any doubt you heard about…” Pete’s voice faltered. “About what happened.”

Gabe nodded.

“I’m guessing you told William that I called you a whore.”

Gabe didn’t say anything and looked at the floor.

“This is the kind of shit he does to the people you love, you know. He doesn’t care as long as he gets what he wants. And he wants me and you.”

Gabe swallowed a lump in his throat and pressed his lips together before he said, “I’m aware.”

“I just wanted to… to help you.” Pete’s voice broke as he tried to hold back his tears. “I didn’t mean what I said. I shouldn’t have said that. And it shouldn’t have taken Patrick’s death for me to realize I was wrong, _so_ wrong. This is what he does to people, Gabe, don’t you realize that?”

Gabe knew what he claimed very well, remembering the threat to his little brother. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry won’t bring Patrick back.” Tears brimmed in Pete’s eyes. “Sorry won’t make me human. Sorry won’t get you the hell out of your situation. You knew, you _knew,_ didn’t you, that when you told William what I was calling you that there’d be consequences, right? But not for me. For someone completely _innocent,_ ” he hissed. “You know what he does. You know how he works, how he thinks, how he feels, how he acts. You can’t put up with this anymore, Gabe, or you’re just as guilty as him.”

Gabe knew now would be his chance, to admit he was entirely complacent. To confess what William had thought of doing to Adrian, to ask Pete to forgive him and beg for his aid in salvation.

Instead, Gabe’s cell phone started vibrating. He took it out of his pocket to check who was calling. It was William.

Gabe glanced back and forth between Pete and his phone.

“Sorry, I’ve got to take this.” Gabe took a step back and then walked away, answering the call once he was a considerable distance away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Papí, you can't call me again.” Gabe told him, rushing the words out.
> 
> “What's going on?” His voice, albeit panicked, would have been a relief if it wasn’t for the situation.
> 
> “You can't know. I'm safe, don't worry. You can't call me, okay?”
> 
> “I don't understand—”
> 
> “I love you.” Gabe quickly hung up and blocked his and Ilana’s numbers, just as Diego was trying to call him back. He lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as the conversation repeated in his head.
> 
> \----------------------
> 
> Things may or may not be in the process of taking a dark turn? ;) But you guys probably already know that and I'm really excited to reveal what's in store for the characters!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd update today since starting tomorrow I think ao3 won't be sending emails for a few days bc server stuff, so if anyone's subscribed to the story I just want to make sure you get an update sooner than later. This chapter includes some smut, enjoy! :) (and there is a smidgen of Spanish conversation again towards the end, but it's really only a few short phrases that aren't enough to be translated tbh)

William was incredibly apologetic when Gabe answered. His tone was seeping with guilt for even suggesting the idea to Gabe.

“You were literally thinking about killing my little brother, Bilvy!” Gabe said, his voice hushed but still radiating of the remaining anger he still held. “What the fuck do you have to say about that, huh? I completely cut off all contact with my family because of you. I don’t even know what the hell to say to you right now! Everyone else was right about you, you know, they all said you were some violent vampire who didn’t care, and I thought I was seeing past all that to someone else, but _no,_ you--”

“I don’t have an excuse. I’m sorry, Gabe, I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to have to cut off your family because of me, you shouldn’t have to do that.”

“Well, I had to. Because who _knows_ what the hell would happen if I didn’t. They’re not just my family, William, they’re also your own _child’s_ family, and I’m guessing you’d rather not want your kid to grow up and ask you what the fuck you did to who was supposed to be their uncle, or their grandpa or whoever the hell else you feel like laying your hands on.”

“Gabe, you know I’d never actually hurt your family--”

“You were _thinking_ about it!”

“Only because I want to protect you and our baby! I was never actually going to go through with it, it was just an idea and I would have never actually done it. I can’t change who I am. You know I’m some cold-hearted vampire freak you fell in love with and I can’t make people like me, I can’t get them to get off my back once they find out who I am unless I throw money at them or kill them. And I just… I guess I just didn’t know how to respond properly to the threat of your family calling the police since that’s not something I can exactly throw money at to go away. I swear, I swear I never would have thought about the possibility of killing your brother if it wasn’t serious, and I’ll never go near or even talk about your family again. I’ll leave them alone. I love you, Gabe, I just don’t want to lose you, and I swear, I won’t even conceive of those kinds of thoughts again.”

Gabe stayed silent, considering what William had said.

“I know how it feels to lose my family, too, because of vampire shit,” William continued. “I was just around your age when I was turned. And even though becoming a vampire was the best thing to ever happen to me, I lost so much. My family turned their backs on me as soon as they found out. They’re ashamed of me. Any time I’ve tried to get in contact with them they completely ignore me. It hurts so much. I never wanted you to feel that pain. In a night we went from a regular middle-class family to my relationship with them being completely severed. I have a younger sibling, too, Courtney. And I miss her so much, and I know how it feels to be an older brother and yet feel like you can’t protect who you’re supposed to. And I know I sound stupid right now, and nothing I can say right now can make up for what I was thinking, but Gabe, I love you, and I don’t ever want to lose you, and I swear, I’ll never touch your family so long as they live.”

As he listened, Gabe slowly became more receptive to William’s apologies. 

There was a hole in his heart already from missing his family, and he couldn’t bear to worsen it by cutting off William too. After losing his family, Gabe didn’t know who else he was supposed to turn to. Ryland, Alex, and Nate were completely despondent to talk to Gabe. Sure, he could still talk to Vicky, but she was always busy with studying and work and usually not available. And Pete was… well, Pete was never an option. Outside of that, Gabe didn’t have much of a social group besides some other Jewish students at Hillel, but they were all just acquaintances he only interacted with to make Shabbat plans or complain about gefilte fish.

Despite his flaws, William was the only one always there for him. The only one Gabe could always depend on, or at least that was what he felt like.

And so, Gabe let himself be persuaded.

After a few minutes, Gabe was walking out to his car to drive to William’s and already talking excitedly about how the baby had kicked for the first time.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Gabe said, just after putting the phone on speaker when he got into the car. “Like, there’s a _baby_ inside of me. It’s crazy. She just—”

“ _He._ ”

Gabe couldn’t help but giggle as he jammed the key into the ignition. “Bilvy, you’re still on thin ice, you know.”

“Mm, I know, and you know how sorry I am, babe.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“And how would that be?” Gabe feigned innocence.

“I hope you don’t mind that I need a shower. I just got back from feeding and I’m covered in blood. But if you’re not up to it and you want me to shower quickly before you arrive...”

Gabe bit his bottom lip for a second, and then said, “No, you don’t have to.”

“Good.” William’s smirk practically emanated through his tone. “I’ll see you then.”

Before Gabe could knock, William flung the front door open, grabbed Gabe’s hand, and practically dragged him up the stairs to the master suite bathroom. Once they were inside, William locked the door, then he picked Gabe up and sat him on the marble countertop.

Until now, Gabe hadn’t gotten a good look at him. William’s hair was caked in dried blood from hunting previously, which also stained his Dandy clothing and his lips. Upon closer observation, the corners of his eyes were tinged red from crying earlier.

William leaned in gently, losing the hurried sense of urgency for a moment, and pressed a kiss to Gabe’s forehead. “I missed you.”

“It’s only been a day.”

“I know, baby, but I thought you’d never forgive me.” He rested his hands on Gabe’s hips, tracing small circles with his thumbs. “I love you.”

“Yo también te amo.”

“I swear, I won’t think anything like that again, ever,” he promised. “I couldn’t hurt you like that, Gabe. I love you so much.”

Gabe didn’t completely believe him, but he believed the part where he said he loved him, and right now, that was what Gabe needed.

William pressed a kiss gently to Gabe’s lips. “I love you.” He initiated a longer kiss after that. While they kissed, his fingers lowered to the waistband of Gabe’s pants. “Let me take this off for you,” he crooned.

“Mm, ‘kay.” Gabe allowed him to slide off his pants and throw them to the bathroom floor. “You gonna start the shower?”

William kissed him again, licking against Gabe’s tongue with a faint taste of blood. “How could I possibly…” He paused, his eyes studying Gabe’s body and eventually ending up his face. “--tear myself away from _you?_ ”

“C’mon, you _promised._ ”

“I just said I needed a shower.” He spread Gabe’s legs apart, pulling him closer to him to be just the right height for William to grind into him and emit a gasp from Gabe. “Tell me what you want, and maybe if you’re nice…”

“Mierda, William, I—” Gabe started, but he was interrupted by William lips against his neck, tips of his fangs just barely brushing against his skin teasingly, and his hands stroking Gabe’s inner thighs. “Mm, I want—” At that inopportune time, William grinded into him again, causing a moan.

“What do you want, Gabanti?” William whispered into his ear, grinding into him again. “Do you know? I have an idea.”

“Like— _aah_ , what?”

William lifted him off the counter, took off and threw aside Gabe’s shirt, and turned him around so he was looking at himself in the mirror with William behind him. “How’d you like to look in the mirror while I bite you?”

His fangs grazed Gabe’s neck. “Oh, fuck yes.”

William wrapped an arm around Gabe’s waist, and another around his chest. “And then we’ll get off in the shower.” As he said that, his arm around Gabe’s waist lowered, slipping into Gabe’s boxers and causing him to lean back into William with a breathy moan. “How’d you like that?”

Gabe, watching in the mirror as William licked up his neck, shuddered and begged, “Yes, William, I need you, I need you! _Dios,_ hazlo.”

“Mm, make sure you’re watching, baby.” And with one last lick on Gabe’s neck, William bit into him. Gabe moaned and sank deeper into William’s grasp.

“William, _fuck—_ ” Gabe watched in the mirror as he writhed against William. William glanced up from his neck, the corner of his mouth forming a smirk at their reflection, and drank deeper, knowing Gabe was watching intently. Hot blood ran down Gabe’s shoulder, its path curving at his collarbone.

William, as he drank, saw Gabe’s face as he cried out in pleasure. With another deep gulp, he started to toy with the waistband of Gabe’s boxers and pushed them down. He brought his hand to Gabe’s thigh, so close to his hardening cock, and William finally extracted his fangs from his neck.

“ _Oh,_ you have no idea what you do to me, Gabe,” William said, staring directly into his eyes in the mirror. “Like, fuck, the _hormones,_ if you knew how your blood tastes right now, holy shit.”

“Can you turn on the shower?”

William giggled, licking up from Gabe’s jaw with his bloody tongue. “Mm, but…” His grip on Gabe’s thigh became tighter. “It’s more fun when you _beg._ ”

“ _Please,_ turn on the shower, I need you, I need you so bad, Bilvy, I need you to touch me—”

William moved his hand to briefly touch Gabe’s cock. “Like this?”

“ _Yes,_ like that, holy shit, just turn on the shower, please!”

“I thought so.” William released his hand from Gabe. He took off his bloody clothing, dropped it into a pile on the ground, and dragged Gabe over to the shower.

Underneath the water, William took Gabe’s hips and pressed him closer as they kissed. The water, washing the dried blood from William’s hair and face, sent red-tinted streaks down both of their bodies.

William pulled back and pressed Gabe against the tiled wall of the shower. Wet strands of hair fell in front of William’s face, which he didn’t bother to brush out of the way, and he hissed, “I wanna see you touch yourself for me again. Just like how you always did in the shower before we met, thinking about me.”

Gabe nodded and quickly wrapped his hand around his own cock, starting to stroke up and down, getting quicker until he built up to a fast rhythm. William watched, fascinated by him and his gasps and the way his hand moved and his lips sighed out his name.

Then William pried away Gabe’s hand, and leaning in close again, demanded, “Tell me all the things you imagined me doing to you.”

“I… I used to think about you biting me, and you’d… you’d… fuck, I just, William, I need…”

“Keep talking.”

“And I used to fantasize, like, it would be so _fucking hot_ if you just like, turned me while you were fucking me, like giving me your blood while you’re on top of me and telling me how good it was gonna be… that’s, like, the kind of shit I’d get off to. But _William, please,_ I really fucking need…”

William grinned, fangs very much visible, and he got to his knees. “I don’t think I’ve sucked your dick before, right?”

The thought just caused more desperation. Gabe cried out, “William, just fucking do it, I need…”

William ran his tongue over his tip before he took Gabe’s cock into his mouth and began to suck on it, his head bobbing up and down. As he did, he dug his fingers into Gabe’s hips and his blood-caked nails scratched against his skin. Gabe couldn’t help but tangle his hands in William’s wet hair while he moaned out his name and his legs trembled under the pleasure.

“Bilvy, I’m gonna…” Gabe started, but a moan interrupted him. William clearly noticed and only took him further into his mouth. “I’m gonna, _oh, shit,_ I’m going to cum…”

Just a second after that, Gabe came. William swallowed his cum as Gabe rode out his orgasm by thrusting forward into him and eventually slowing it until he stopped. William took his mouth off Gabe’s dick with a _pop_ and spit the cum into the shower drain, then he stood back up.

“You like that?” William whispered into Gabe’s ear. “Damn, Gabe, with the slutty noises you make… and the way your blood _tastes,_ you’re just so fucking hot. I’m so glad you’re mine. I’m so glad you tripped in the parking lot and scraped your hand. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Do you want me to…”

“You can just jack me off for now. We’ll do plenty more later.”

Gabe nodded and wrapped his hand around William’s hard cock. With the blood and the pleasure he felt from hearing Gabe’s moans, Gabe knew William wouldn’t last long. He started to pump his hand quickly up and down his cock.

“ _Fuck,_ Gabanti,” William gasped out, leaning his forehead against Gabe’s. “Shit, I don’t know what I’d do without you, without— _fuck,_ you to be a whore for me like this, can you go faster— _yes!_ Like th— _fuck!_ "

William kissed Gabe, his moans spilling over his lips every few moments. Soon, William came all over Gabe’s hand, still messily kissing Gabe and swearing to him that he loved him, forgetting the feelings they had woken up with. 

Right as Gabe was turning off his phone to get some random number from New Jersey to stop calling him, he heard Travie’s familiar voice from behind him, “Hey, Gabe, can we talk?”

Gabe sighed. It was late at night and he was exhausted, having just gotten back from William’s. All he wanted was to get back to his room and sleep. He turned around and said, “Sure, I guess.”

“I’m really sorry Pete outed you like that, that you’re pregnant,” Travie apologized. “It’s gotta be stressful, and I’ve really been on your back recently about everything. I’m only an RA for the free room & board, to be honest. I don’t wanna have to keep annoying you about shit.”

“It’s okay,” Gabe said. “Uh, thanks. No, I totally get it, you’re just trying to do your job. I can’t be mad at you for that.”

“Cool.” They stood around awkwardly for a few seconds, until Travie asked, “So, like, who’s the father?”

Gabe didn’t think it’d be wise to reveal the name of his boyfriend. “He doesn’t matter. I’m doing this on my own.”

“Oh. Well, let me know if you need anything. Like, really. I know you don’t like me, but I’m always here to help.”

“Thanks.” Gabe smiled lightly, probably the first genuine smile he had directed at him since move-in day. It was nice to know someone was there for him, even if it was Travie.

Gabe woke up in the morning to _another_ one of the random calls from New Jersey. He tried to tune out until it stopped, hoping to fall back asleep for a few minutes before he had to get up, but Ryland groaned from his bed, “Gabe, just pick up your damn phone, this is the third time it’s rung this morning!” That was probably the first sentence Ryland had said to him this week.

“Fine.” Gabe sighed, rolling over. He grabbed his phone and answered the call, yawning before asking, “Who is this?”

“Ricky.”

“No me llama!” Gabe shot up from his pillow, suddenly flooded with panic. “It’s not fucking safe! I thought I blocked your number! You can’t--”

“I’m calling from Dad’s office, this is the line he uses to take patient’s credit card numbers. It’s secure.” Ricky sniffled. “We… we just wanted to hear your voice again. We’ve been so worried since you--”

“I’m fine. So’s the baby.” Gabe reassured him and whoever else he guessed was also listening to the call. “Stop calling me. I love you guys, but really, you can’t call me.”

“Te queremos.” He heard his father’s voice. “Tienes que--”

“Adios.” Gabe quickly hung up just as he was starting to feel himself choke up with tears. He blocked that number as well before they could call him again.

“You cut off your family?” Ryland finally asked, interrupting the silence that had fallen except for Gabe tapping at his phone. “Yeah, it’s _really_ worth fucking your life up for your vampire freak boyfriend, right?”

“You’re not helping.” Gabe figured he might as well get up to use the bathroom, since pregnancy was doing the opposite of helping his bladder. “I’m just--” Right as he said that, he stood up and his vision suddenly darkened fuzzily for a second before returning, making his legs weak. He sat back down on his bed, needing to regain strength for a minute before he could go about his day.

“You okay?”

“Don’t pretend to care,” Gabe snapped at him. “I’m fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Gabe forgave William... idk if anyone is surprised at this point haha. I hope you enjoyed the smut ;) It's not my best but not my worst I think.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very excited to post this chapter, it's got some good drama (*chef's kiss*) so I hope you enjoy it!

Gabe swore every time he thought he’d finally gotten Pete to never talk to him again, he was proved wrong. Despite being considered William Beckett’s “whore” and being involved in Patrick’s death, Pete still somehow found the nerve to approach Gabe before class to ask about what the textbook reading assignment was. _You know,_ because romping around Chicago in the middle of the night with stakes and endangering your life _clearly_ took precedence over homework, at least according to Pete’s logic.

“You had time to do it, Pete,” Gabe said instead of explaining, but mostly because he couldn’t remember what he had read. He hadn’t been able to focus on the reading. He could barely focus on anything, honestly; his mind ran that day like it had been jet-lagged except accompanied with a duller form of exhaustion and an on-and-off headache.

Pete started to say something back, but the words faded into the air while Gabe’s vision grew blurry and wavering like the room was being slowly dangled in front of him. His face paled and his legs swayed before they gave way and the floor flew upward. He blacked out just as Pete quickly rushed to catch him.

Gabe realized when he woke up that this, in fact, was not his bed and that he had an IV inserted into the skin of his arm.

He slowly surveyed the room and saw Pete in the chair next to his bed, clearly concerned.

“What happened?” Gabe demanded, shooting up. “Is the baby okay?”

“Gabe, you scared me! I thought you were going to die!”

“What the hell happened?”

“You fainted while you were talking to me,” Pete started to explain. “I caught you, but then you wouldn’t wake up so the professor had to call an ambulance. And I know you probably don’t want me to be here, but _someone_ had to go with you, and at least I know a few things about you.”

“Oh. So if I just fainted then me and the baby are fine, right? Fainting once in a while is normal when you’re pregnant... right?”

“Not when you don’t wake up! You see that?” Pete pointed to the other side of the bed, where there was a bag of blood hanging and a tube running down from it that had been put into Gabe’s arm. “The doctor said your body’s probably just not making enough for you and the baby, but I know really Beckett’s been drinking too fucking much of your blood!”

“Oh. Is… is the baby okay?”

“Probably. It is a vampire, after all. But they said they wanna do an ultrasound when you wake up, so I guess you’ll find out.”

“And you didn’t tell them about…”

“I told them nothing,” Pete promised. “They did ask about the bites on you, but I told them you have a biting kink and they actually seemed to believe it.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and they also called your dad.”

Gabe unblocked his father’s number momentarily to call him and lie to him he was perfectly fine and that the doctor said it was normal to faint. His father, being a doctor, wasn’t easily persuaded, but Gabe abruptly hung up and blocked him again before he could ask more questions. Pete did give him a funny look after hearing the tone of their conversation, but being that he didn’t understand Spanish, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

And now he was lying down, watching as the ultrasound technician held the wand over his stomach and studied the screen showing the baby. Pete was still in the room, since he had insisted he didn’t want to leave him alone in this kind of situation.

“She looks perfectly healthy,” the technician said. “Everything seems normal.”

Gabe was about to exhale in relief, when he realized, “Wait, _she?_ ”

The technician’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you already knew the sex—”

Gabe didn’t know why, possibly because hospital atmospheres heightened emotions or because he had just gotten off the phone with his father, but he started to sob. Pete hesitated but started to rub Gabe’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I… I wanted William to… to be here when I found out…”

Pete glared at the ultrasound technician. “Can’t you do your fucking _job_ right?”

She apologized profusely but Gabe kept on crying, so she ended the ultrasound quickly, and left the room quickly even though she hadn’t been completely finished.

“I wanna call William!” Gabe wailed.

Pete seemed doubtful, but there was no way he could say no right now. He handed him his cell phone. It only took a second for William to answer.

“Gabanti, what is it?” He was clearly trying to mask some annoyance in his voice. “I’m kinda in the middle of—”

“It’s...it’s a girl.” He bit back his cries, but was just barely successful.

“It’s a _girl?_ ” William gasped. The entire tone of his voice switched. “Wait, how do you know? Why are you crying? Are you—”

“I’m at the hospital,” Gabe sobbed out. “I’m okay, the baby’s okay. I just… I fainted in class.”

“You should tell him why.” Pete suggested.

“What? Who’s that?”

“It’s Pete.”

Silence. “Oh.”

“Look, the… the reason I fainted is because… I didn’t have enough blood.”

“Gabe, I’m sorry, if I’d known… this is all my fault, oh g--”

“No, it’s fine. Can you just come to the hospital?”

“Of course, right away. Which one are you at?”

Gabe looked over to Pete. “Uh, which hospital are we at?”

William arrived quicker than Gabe thought he would. As soon as he found Gabe’s room, he immediately ran in while tearing off his sunglasses and to Gabe’s bed to kiss his cheek. The visitor sticker on his chest held one of William’s many fake names. “Gabanti, I’m _so_ sorry, how are you?”

“I’m doing better, really, don’t worry about it.”

“You should have told me. I would have stopped right away.”

“I didn’t know. It’s only been really hitting me the last few days.”

“ _Last few days?_ Babe, you should have told me yesterday when--”

“I thought I just needed more sleep.”

William sighed, leaning in and kissing his cheek again. “I love you. Gabanti, you got to be careful, I don’t want to kill you or our daughter…”

Pete, at that moment, chose to clear his throat noticeably. He was sitting in the chair by the bed, arms crossed and staring boldly at William as he turned away from Gabe to glance at him. “I don’t think Gabe’s the one at fault here.”

William’s eyes hardened coldly on Pete. He stood up straight, his height looming over Pete. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it, Pete?”

Pete got up, but it didn’t help; his shorter stature was barely as intimidating. “Let’s talk in the hallway, Beckett.”

“I think we should,” William agreed. He turned back to Gabe and said, “We’ll be back in a minute.”

Gabe groaned. “Just don’t kill each other right now.”

William and Pete entered the hallway, which was empty and almost blindingly bright with fluorescent lights at this time of night. They stood across from each other outside of the room.

“You realize it’s your own fault Gabe’s here, right?” Pete began, crossing his arms again. “You’re the one who needs to be more damn careful, Beckett!”

“He wanted it,” William stated simply, alongside a shrug Pete considered inappropriately casual. “I would have stopped the second he told me it was too much. But he still kept begging for it, because it just feels that good, doesn’t it, Pete? I still remember last year, when you were begging me to do the same for you.”

“You had drugged me!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It doesn’t matter how much he liked it anyways! You still could have killed Gabe and your baby because you never know when to fucking stop!”

“That’s funny, _Pete,_ ” he spat, “because you’re the one who never knows when to stop. Was killing Patrick not a clear enough message for you? Gabe doesn’t want to be...” William made quotations with his fingers along with exaggerating the raising of his eyebrows, “ _‘rescued’_ from me. He loves me. He’s the one who chose to be with me. He knows fully well what he’s gotten himself into and he’s perfectly happy with it.”

“The problem is he _doesn’t_ know what he’s gotten himself into, and I hope he realizes what he has when he figures out he’s in the hospital because it’s your fault, _not_ his, that you’ve got no fucking self-restraint!”

“He does know what he’s gotten himself into.” William stepped closer to Pete and lowered his voice to a whisper. “He’s seen me kill right in front of him. He’s let me fuck him when my fingers are slick with blood. He keeps track of all my murders on a map in his room with thumbtacks and smiles thinking about it. There’s nothing left for you to save. There _never_ was. I didn’t fuck him up; he already did the job himself before we met. He’s a lost cause, Pete. Gabe is _mine,_ and you need to learn to leave him alone. I was hoping what happened to your friend would be enough of a warning.”

Pete gulped, but he didn’t back down. “Bullshit. Everything you’re saying is bullshit.”

“You’d understand if you came back to the Dandies.”

“ _Never,_ ” Pete hissed, fangs bared.

“So if that’s how it is.” William’s confident composure hardly changed as he glanced down at Pete's fangs and back to his eyes. “Remember, Pete, I have money, I have power, and I can do _anything_ you can conceive of and more to get you the hell away from Gabe. Keep that in mind. I’ll let you stay for now, but once Gabe’s out of the hospital, you have no idea what I can do if I see you talking to him again. He doesn’t want your help, and he _never_ has. Do you understand?”

“I don’t think I do understand.”

“Who’d you rather I go after next, then? Joe or Andy? Those are the names of your roommates, correct?”

Pete didn’t say anything, but defeatedly looked down to the floor while William waited for him to answer.

“That’s exactly what I thought,” William said. “Remember that I could have made your life a living hell for running away from me, but I didn’t. You better take what you can get while you still can.”

Pete had to step into the hospital room’s bathroom for a few minutes to try to calm himself down. It was hard, _so_ incredibly hard, when he was standing face-to-face with the vampire who not only had fucked up Pete’s own life, but also killed his best friend who barely had involvement in this certain situation at all.

Pete gripped the sides of the sink, switching his balance from his toes to his heels back and forth and staring at himself in the mirror, the mirror that only showed the disaster William Beckett had made him. He didn’t see his current self standing in a hospital. He only saw the bloody and dishevelled mess he had been the night he finally escaped the Dandies, which he had seen in the mirror when Patrick was cleaning his cuts and fussing over him like a worried mother while Pete just tried not to kill him.

When he finally collected himself, Pete laid his hand on the door handle for a few seconds before opening the door slowly and quietly.

As he peeked around the corner, he saw that Gabe and William hadn’t noticed the creak of the door. Instead, William was sitting on the bed with his hand on Gabe’s stomach while they giggled with each other and hoped for the baby to kick soon so that William could feel her. There was an unbreakable awe in William’s grin, one that made Pete know that he was far too attached to Gabe. He’d really never let Pete anywhere near him. When William said he’d use his extravagant means to keep him away from Gabe, Pete knew that he had meant every bitter and violent threat that came off his tongue.

And so, Pete knew he had to devise a different method. One that would take them by surprise, one that would save Gabe and his daughter. He just didn’t know what exactly yet.

Even though he had sworn to himself he wouldn’t leave Gabe alone with _him,_ Pete left the hospital a few minutes later during the early hour of 11 P.M. He knew he wouldn’t talk to Gabe again for a while; in the newly-spared time, he’d plot instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed that chapter! Lots of stuff going on in it haha (tbh I love writing altercations between Pete and William) and there's definitely more to come ;)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, there's some smut so I hope it's good lol

Gabe was able to be discharged after being given a quick snack and filling out some paperwork, and soon William was walking him out to his car. As soon as they had gotten in, William said, “It’s a shame Pete went home early, isn’t it?”

Gabe nodded and knowing William was just looking for an excuse to vilify Pete, changed the topic. “I’m gonna miss you drinking my blood.”

“Me too.” William sighed. He started the car. “It’s too bad. How long do you think I should wait? Two weeks?”

“ _Two weeks?_ ” Gabe pouted. “Bilvy, that’s so long!”

William had just been about to shift the gear of the car, but instead he turned to Gabe and leaned in close, placing his hand onto his cheek. He ran his thumb over his cheek as he said, “Oh, it’ll go by faster than you know it. You’ll be done with your finals by then, right? We can celebrate it with some blood, I’m sure you’d like that.”

Gabe then realized he wasn’t sure what he’d be doing after finals; he’d have to move out of the dorms, and since he had cut off his family for their safety, he couldn’t exactly go back to New Jersey for the summer. “Yeah. That sounds good. Speaking of finals… I hate to ask this of you but since I can’t really go back to Jersey for the summer... would you mind letting me live with you?”

“Of course, Gabe! You don’t have to worry,” William quickly assured him. He pressed a kiss to his lips. “I mean, we gotta move in together at some point, right? We gotta get used to it before the baby comes. And it’s gonna be great. All of the Dandies love you.” He leaned in closer to Gabe’s ear and whispered, “And we can fuck as much as you want. I bet you’d love for me to fuck you hard over and over again and not have to worry about you leaving in the morning for classes. I can’t wait to see you, all pretty and your legs spread out for me and covered in blood, over and over again until you feel the ache of my cock days and _days_ after.”

“ _Bilvy,_ you can’t just tease me like that when we’re still in the parking lot.”

“Is your roommate home tonight?”

“Probably.” Gabe sighed.

“That’s a shame.” William frowned. He pulled away from Gabe and put the car into reverse, his eyes darting around as he backed out. “Probably for the best. You need your rest.”

“No. I feel great now, really.”

“Mhm. Like when you said you weren’t that drunk. I’m not going to fall for it this time, Gabe, you need to sleep. A blood transfusion is pretty serious.”

“It couldn’t possibly _hurt,_ though,” Gabe mentioned offhandedly, “If we like, happened to jerk each other off in the backseat before we got out of the car, it’d probably be fine. I’m sure it would really tire me out and help me sleep.”

“You’re really that horny, hm?”

“And I don’t really remember that much of when you jerked me off when I was drunk. So my memory could need refreshing.”

“You remember it perfectly well, Gabe, we’ve talked about it before.”

“I’ll jack off right in front of you if you don’t.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Gabe popped off the top button of his jeans. “Oops. Just accidentally undid my button.”

“ _Gabe._ ” William was clearly trying to focus on driving, but whatever Gabe was doing, it was working because his eyes were darting back and forth between Gabe and the road. “Damn, you’re really a hoe, aren’t you?”

“You know it.” William heard the slow and sultry unzipping of Gabe’s jeans. “I need you. You’re the one who whispered all that hot shit to me, I can’t just _wait_ after hearing all that.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

“I _need_ you so bad.”

“We’re not so far from campus. And if it’ll help you sleep better, then I suppose we could as soon as we get there.”

“Exactly.” Gabe adjusted his position in his seat. “I _really_ need you! Bilvy, I need you to touch me. I’m getting hard just thinking about it, you know.”

“You better wait and not touch yourself until I’ve parked. I want you to wait for me. I don’t have to do this for you if you’re not being good for me, _slut._ ”

“I’ll be good.” Gabe’s voice was strained, impatiently trying not to grind his hips up into the palm of his hand. “I swear, I’ll be good.”

“You damn better.”

It took a few more long minutes to arrive at the campus and find a parking space, but once William did, he yanked his keys out of the ignition and threw them into the cupholder. He eyed Gabe hungrily for a moment before kissing him messily against his desperate lips. Gabe’s hands tangled in his long locks of hair, tugging at it slightly as he lifted his hips up in search of friction.

“ _Dios,_ William, I _need you,_ I need you so _fucking bad,_ please, I’ve been good!” Gabe gasped warmly against his lips. “ _Please!_ ”

“Keep begging.” William moved away from his lips and to his neck, running his tongue over it and pressing wet kisses to his skin.

“ _Please,_ Bilvy, Bilvy, I need you. You’re just making it worse on my neck, knowing you can’t bite me. I need you, I need you to touch me!”

Finally, William left his neck. “Backseat.”

Gabe crawled into the backseat of the car and William got in behind him. Gabe practically threw himself onto the seat, reaching for his jeans to pull them, but William quickly grabbed his hands and pulled them away. Instead, he said, “You gotta wait until I take them off for you.”

“ _Bilvy--_ ” Then William pressed his hand onto Gabe’s hard-on in his jeans, causing Gabe to throw his head back and moan. “Fuck!”

“You look so fucking _hot_ like this.” William hissed. “I love seeing you like this, so desperate and needy for me. You need me so fucking bad, don’t you? Do you want me to take your pants off for you?”

“Mm, _yes!_ ” Gabe cried out, as William pushed his hand against the area again. “Fuck, I need you, Bilvy, I need you so fucking bad!”

“Prove it,” William demanded, straddling him and grinding down onto him. He took Gabe’s hands and pinned them against the back of the seat. “Tell me... how much you need me.”

“I need you, I need your fingers around my cock already, _shit,_ I need you!” Gabe was grinding up into William eagerly to meet some sort of friction, but it just wasn’t good enough as long as he still had all of his clothes on. “I don’t know what the hell I’d do without you… I don’t know how I could… how I could survive jerking myself off only being able to think about-- _oh, shit,_ what… what you’d feel like. You’re… you’re the only one who’s ever made me feel _this_ fucking good!”

“Mm, you’re just so perfect, you know that?” William giggled breathlessly, getting off of Gabe’s lap and pushing down his pants and boxers, letting his cock spring free. “We can use my blood as lube for now, alright? As long as a lot doesn’t get into your mouth, it’ll be absolutely fine.”

“Mm, yeah.”

“Watch me.” William said, holding up his bare wrist that was palely illuminated by the distant street lamp. “You won’t get to see me do this again until I turn you.”

Gabe watched as William held his wrist up to his mouth and bit down into it, staring Gabe directly in the eyes as he did and knowing the effect it had on him. William‘s blood ran down his arm and dripped onto Gabe’s legs. William drank a mouthful, then spit it onto his hand and wrapped his blood-coated fingers around Gabe’s cock.

Gabe moaned at his touch which he had anticipated for so long and thrust himself up into William’s grip. William started to move his hand quickly, jerking him off with quick movements, and asked him, “Is this what you wanted? For me to get you off like the slut you are because you can’t wait? To _beg_ for me until you’re desperate and moaning out for me?”

“Oh, fuck yeah, _mierda,_ I think I’m gonna…”

William took his hand away and hissed in his ear, “Tell me baby, what are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna cum, _Bilvy,_ please, keep touching me, I need you, I _need_ you to make me cum!”

“Do you really?” William asked, running his bloody finger over Gabe’s lips. “I could stare at you all night, watching you look like this, so desperate for me.”

“Please, I need you!”

William considered it, admiring Gabe’s face for a moment, and then kissed him at the same time he returned his hand to his cock and started jacking him off again. Gabe came all over his hand, moaning and vaguely tasting the blood on William’s lips. There was some that got on the seat, but it wouldn’t be much of a bother to clean up later in exchange for seeing Gabe like _this._

William gave him a moment to catch his breath, and mentioned, “If you’re not too tired… you could…”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, sure. I wanna suck you off.”

“Oh, _fuck,_ please.” William made quick work of unbuttoning and pushing down his pants to his ankles. Gabe got onto his knees on the car’s narrow floor space and positioned himself between William’s spread legs. He rested his hands on his thighs, pressing into his skin with his nails as he leaned in and experimentally licked up William’s hard cock. “ _Shit,_ Gabe.” Gabe took him into his mouth and started to suck, causing William to lift his hips up to fuck into his mouth and moan, “ _Oh,_ fuck, you’re so good, you’re such a good slut for me, holy shit!”

William came a few minutes later, moaning, “ _Ah,_ Gabe, I love you, fuck, I love you!” while Gabe swallowed his cum. 

When he had finished, Gabe took his mouth off of William and while they were catching their breath and pulling their pants back up, William said, “We shouldn’t do this again until I can drink your blood.”

“What? Was it not good enough?”

“No, Gabanti, it was so fucking good!” William promised, fumbling to button up his pants. “It’s just hard when I see you looking all hot like that, it really makes me thirsty, you know?”

“Yeah. I guess,” Gabe said disappointedly. “I get it.”

“As soon as you’re done with finals, we’ll fuck.” William told him. “And I’ll drink your blood again, and it’ll be even better because of the anticipation, right?”

“Yeah" Gabe sighed. "I guess.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll find some way to make it up to you, I promise.”

“Like how?”

“I don’t know yet, but I will. I promise.” He kissed Gabe on the lips. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

William walked Gabe to his dorm room, holding hands the whole way. Luckily, there was barely anyone in the hallways at this time of night and the few who were didn’t judge their tousled appearance; they’d definitely seen stranger things at college.

When they got to Gabe’s dorm, Gabe was only expecting to say goodbye to William and go to sleep, but instead, he saw all of his friends sitting inside his room when he swung open the door. William was unseen by them since he stood to the side of the doorway.

“Um, hi?” Gabe greeted, confused. “Guys, it’s nearly two A.M. What the hell are you doing in here? Ryland, did you tell them—”

“Yeah, he told us you were in the hospital because of a certain _someone._ ” Nate said.

“Is this like an intervention or something?”

“No, not exactly—” Ryland started, but he was interrupted.

“It pretty much is,” Vicky said plainly. “And it’s ridiculous.”

“Whatever your concerns are,” William spoke up, stepping behind Gabe so he was seen. “I’ll be glad to hear them.”

The entire room froze at the sight of him. They only stared back at him in fear.

“I didn’t realize you’d bring him,” Ryland finally said after a long period of hesitation.

“I didn’t realize you’d have a whole intervention because I was in the hospital.” Gabe sighed. “It wasn’t even William-related, okay? I fainted, and it’s perfectly normal for pregnant people to do. I’m here now and I’m fine. William has nothing to do with it. We did find out the baby’s gender, though! Isn’t that cool?”

“Nobody gives a shit about your baby’s gender when you’re _literally_ dying.”

“Nate, that’s rude!” Vicky scolded. “He’s obviously fine!”

“All I know is that Gabe won’t ever fucking talk to us anymore because of _you._ ” Nate pointed to William accusingly. “All you guys do is fuck and do your weird murdering blood kink shit!”

“You guys are the ones who won’t talk to me!” Gabe said. “How many times have I sent something in the groupchat, asking if we can hang out sometime? And then you guys just go ahead and hang out without me and trash-talk my boyfriend the whole time!”

“How the hell do you know that? Vicky, did you tell him?”

“No, I did,” Alex said. “I mean… it _is_ kinda shitty that we do that.”

“Well, anyways, you had to cut off your family because of your boyfriend,” Ryland added. “Comparatively, I think that’s a lot more shitty.”

“Because they were going to call the police on William!”

“I think that’s a normal response to finding out you’re dating not just any vampire, but literally _him!_ ”

William sighed and stepped out from behind Gabe and into the room. He crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows at all of them, and said, “Look, you can all keep pointing fingers at me, but at the end of the day, you’re all not worth shit. Like, come on, you can’t keep blaming everything on me. You guys are causing most of the problems here.”

“Because you’re killing him!”

“I’m not killing him.” William looked straight at Nate, causing him to shrink back in the desk chair he was sat at. He took a step toward him and leaned in, saying, “I’m not doing anything he doesn’t want me to do. If he never wanted me to bite him, I wouldn’t. If he had wanted an abortion or to break up with me, I would have respected his decision. This might be hard to believe, _Nate--_ " He scowled as the name dripped off his tongue with contempt. "--but I care a lot more about Gabe than most of you do. All you’re all doing here is showing how shit friends you are. Gabe doesn’t deserve any of you.”

“And he doesn’t deserve you either,” Nate said, his stare back at William unwavering even though he was simultaneously trying to keep himself from shaking in fear.

“Oh, he _does_ deserve me,” William chuckled. “I’m all he’s ever dreamed about.”

Everyone was silent. William kept staring at Nate for a few more seconds, just to make sure his intimidation was ingrained, and then turned away to face the rest of Gabe’s friends.

“Anything else any of you want to say?”

“Gabe, how do _you_ feel about this?” Ryland asked.

Gabe had been standing in the doorway the entire time as he watched. He just shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess.”

“Fine with him intimidating all of us?”

“Yeah, he’s like, not gonna actually _do_ anything unless you really do something bad,” Gabe said. “You all have to give him a chance. If you got to know him…”

“I think it’s kind of hard to get to know him when all I hear about him is that he keeps killing people.”

“I don’t really have much of a choice in it,” William said. “I have to, to survive.”

“But you don’t _have_ to _kill_ them,” Ryland insisted. “You don’t _have_ to turn more people into vampires.”

“That’s off-topic.”

“No it’s not—”

“Um, guys?” Travie peered into the room from the hall. In getting caught up in the argument, they’d forgotten to close the door. “It’s kinda late. If you’re gonna continue whatever your conversation is about, close the door. And you all should go home soon. It’s actually _way_ past curfew.”

“Sorry,” the whole room apologized, mostly mumbled.

“I probably should get going,” Alex said.

“Me too,” Nate said, uneasily glancing over at William. The both of them got up and left without saying a word.

“I guess I should, too.” Vicky stood up. “Nice seeing you guys again. Oh, and Gabe, what’s the baby’s gender?”

“Girl.”

“Aw!” She grinned. “I’m so excited for you guys. Congrats!”

“Thanks.” Gabe tried to look cheerful, but his grin faltered. William only smiled and said nothing to her; he wasn’t completely sure how to feel about Vicky yet.

As Vicky left, William gave Gabe a kiss on the forehead, said goodnight, and left the room. In the hallway, he saw Travie, who had been waiting for all of them to exit.

“You know, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Travie said, studying William’s face as he closed the door behind him. However, it was obvious he was too tired to realize who he actually was.

“Yeah, people say that a lot.” William shrugged. “I guess I just have one of those faces. Good night.”

He was about to turn away and leave when Travie asked, “Wait, are you Gabe’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Because like, I thought Gabe said you weren’t really… in the picture.”

“He clearly didn’t,” William said. Then he left, leaving Travie to scrutinize him as he walked away and wonder, what _exactly_ gave him the wrong vibes that were about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Things are gonna really start to escalate even more in the coming chapters... I'm really excited to post them. Shit's really gonna go down.
> 
> Also, I understand not everyone's super into commenting but it is pretty rare I get comments on this fic and I really don't know if anyone's really still reading at this point. I'm not saying you have to comment, but I really appreciate everything I get even if it's a few words or a keyboard smash or critique, it's always the highlight of my day so if you do want to comment please don't be scared. Thanks :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter than most chapters but you'll see why I chose to end where I did ;) Enjoy!

Pete did keep to what William had told him and actually stayed away from Gabe during their next class. Surprising, but not that Gabe was complaining. He had other things to focus on, like trying not to get distracted because his daughter was being particularly active and kept kicking when he was trying to listen to the lecture.

After approaching Gabe for the first time that night when class had ended, Pete hesitantly asked, “You got any plans tonight?”

“Not really.” Gabe shrugged. At that moment, his phone inconveniently buzzed with a notification that he picked up to check. It was a text from William confirming their plans for that night.

“If it’s William, just tell me.” Pete sighed. “I’m… I’m giving up. I’m not gonna try to break you guys up anymore. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy.”

Gabe was shocked by the sudden change of heart. “Oh. Thanks. That really means a lot. Yeah, me and William are hanging out tonight. Nothing big though, just watching a movie together.”

“At the movie theatre?”

“Nah, we’re just watching Netflix in my room.”

“Cool,” Pete said, avoiding eye contact with Gabe and shifting his feet nervously. “Um… have fun. Bye.” He quickly hurried away.

Gabe did find his behavior odd, but barely enough to warrant suspicion. He’d, very regrettably, forget how Pete was acting and only recall it later.

Gabe was curled in William’s arms, sitting on his bed with a large and cozy blanket covering them. The entire room was dark except for the light illuminated from Gabe’s laptop. It felt blissful, a moment Gabe wanted to last forever.

“She just kicked.”

William quickly took his arm off of Gabe’s shoulder and pressed his hand to Gabe’s stomach. “I swear, if she doesn’t kick again…”

“You have, like, twenty-two more weeks to feel it, give or take. You’ll survive.”

“It’s not fair that she always stops when I try to feel it.”

“You gotta be more patient, Bilvy.”

“I _can’t._ ”

Gabe giggled and nuzzled gently against his neck. “She’s still so small, if she kicks you might not even feel it.”

“But I want to!”

Gabe opened his mouth to say something, but he was silenced by a knock at the door. “Ryland must have forgotten his keycard or something.” He sighed, leaning over to pause the movie. “I’ll get it.”

He got up to open the door and saw Travie was standing there.

“Hey, what’s up? Is it the volume of the movie we were watching? Because I can turn it down--”

“No, that’s not it,” Travie said. His tone was serious, a stark contrast to how cheerful he usually sounded. “Can we talk out in the hallway quickly?”

“Sure.” Gabe motioned with one finger held up that it’d only take a second to William, who was sitting up and seemed wary. Gabe stepped out in the hallway with Travie, leaving the door open just a crack so it wouldn’t lock them out.

Travie took a folded sheet of paper out of the pocket of his jeans and handed it to him. When Gabe unfolded it, he saw it was one of the posters that was hung all around campus, warning of well-known and wanted Dandies. As Gabe stared down at it, Travie pointed to the large picture of William Beckett printed on it and said, “That’s your boyfriend, isn’t it?”

“What?” Gabe asked, cracking a disbelieving smile in an attempt to play dumb even though his heart pounded hard in his ears. “That’s not my boyfriend. He looks nothing like that. Is this some sort of joke?”

“I know that your boyfriend is William Beckett, Gabe, it’s okay. Pete told me.”

“Pete doesn’t know shit.” He suddenly realized why Pete would have wanted to know his plans tonight and his mouth went dry. _Oh._

“I need to call the police, okay, man? Like… you have no idea how serious this is. He’s wanted for killing hundreds, possibly _thousands_ of people.”

“You can’t do that.” Gabe’s shaking fingers started to crumple the poster. His eyes were wide with desperation, searching and pleading for any hint of mercy from Travie. “You can’t do that. You _can’t--_ ”

“You need help.” Travie took his cellphone out of his pocket. “It’s okay. You’ll be fine, how about you--”

“William!” Gabe called into the room, pushing open the door as he took a nervous step back.

He appeared at Gabe’s side in a flourish, furiously eying Travie and the phone in his hand. At the sight of William, Travie was immediately frozen in place and his grip on the phone became stiff.

“I heard the whole conversation,” William stated. “And one way or another, you’re not calling the police.” He took a step forward in front of Gabe, observing Travie as he would prey and licking his lips. William stopped right in front of him, crossing his arms and leaning in until the cold breath of his words could be felt. He hissed, “Oh, now you’re scared? Come on. Say something.”

Travie didn’t say anything. Instead, he spun around and fled down the hall. However, it was a hopeless attempt. William was faster. Within a second, he had caught Travie by the back of his shoulders and threw him against the wall with an alarmingly loud _thump!_ that left a crack and caused dust to fly into the air.

William snatched the phone out of his hand and dropped it to the floor, smashing it under his foot and then grinding down on it with his heel with a crunch that made him grin wickedly. “Pete really thought he’d get me, hm? I almost feel bad for you, being so stupid to let yourself be manipulated by him. Did you really think this would work?”

Travie was trembling and his mouth was agape, unable to utter a word as William grabbed him by his shoulders and slammed him into the wall again. He had barely cried out before William slapped a hand over his mouth and tore into his neck. William was barely careful as he drank quick and greedily, ripping his fangs through his flesh to create one large gash instead of two neat bite marks. The blood gushed from Travie’s neck as he struggled to get free and attempted to yell against the hand covering his mouth, desperate to be freed. He kept glancing over at Gabe, his dying and despairing eyes begging for his help, but there wasn’t anything Gabe could think to do but stand there and stare while the spectacle unfolded.

Gabe watched in silence as Travie’s body became limp and his knees collapsed underneath him. His eyes fell closed and his head slumped against the wall. Once William was sure the damage he’d inflicted was more than enough to be lethal, he let Travie’s body drop to the floor with a hard thump, splashing in the puddle of blood that had pooled at his feet. William licked his lips as he stepped back from the body, his chin dripping warm and thick with deep red.

“ _Qué mierda,_ ” Gabe finally said, his eyes wide. “You killed Travie. You…. you _killed_ him!”

William turned to him. He’d expected Gabe to kiss him as usual instead of this hysteria. “What’d you expect to happen?”

“There’s security cameras in the hallway! And someone… someone who’s not sleeping is going to come out and see the _RA_ fucking _dead!_ And the police… the police…” Gabe could hardly breathe, his teary eyes pleading with William as if there was some way he could undo the undoable. He had to lean against the wall for support. “I… I don’t want to… I don’t wanna…”

“Listen to me, Gabe, it’s going to be okay,” William reassured him. He took Gabe’s hand and tried to tug him away, but his feet stayed firmly in place. “You can stay at my house until all this blows over, okay? Come on, we gotta hurry to my car. It’s gonna be okay.”

Gabe shook his head. “It’s not okay… I… It’s my fault…”

“It’s not your fault, you had _nothing_ to do with this,” William said. “Come on, we have to hurry, Gabe, it’s okay, we just gotta get to my car and I’ll drive you to my place, okay?”

Gabe stumbled forward. He felt too weak to be running, but yet he was still hurrying behind William as he pulled him along with him.

He couldn’t think about Travie’s bloody corpse, only what he was leaving behind by letting William take him with him. A few times he considered completely stopping in his tracks, to proclaim refusal at the most inconvenient of times, but Gabe couldn’t. He was entirely complacent.

Gabe found himself in the car after a period of blindly following him, with William not even bothering to put on his seatbelt and just rushing to jam his keys in the ignition to start the car. He pulled out of the parking lot in a matter of seconds and went above the speed limit once they were on the road, racing past the streaks of light from passing cars. Meanwhile, Gabe stared ahead at the highway ahead of them, completely blank as he struggled to define exactly how he felt.

“Would listening to music help?”

It took Gabe a second to register William’s question. “What?”

“Do you want me to turn on the radio for you? Do you think that’d calm you down?”

“I don’t know.” Gabe’s words felt detached from his tongue.

William turned on the radio anyway. The slow lull of some indie song filled the car, but Gabe’s ears were completely numb to it. His bewilderment was louder.

“Your phone’s ringing.”

“Oh.” Gabe hadn’t realized his cell phone was even in his pocket. He slowly took his phone out his pocket and answered, barely reading who was calling before he held the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“ _G-Gabe,_ ” Ryland choked on a sob while he said his name, “What the _fuck_ happened?!”

“What?”

“I got back from my work shift and saw people all over our floor _crying_ and _screaming_ because they found Travie’s dead body and calling the police frantic as fuck! What the hell happened?”

“He was going… he was gonna call the cops on William…” A sudden life-or-death sort of urgency suddenly spurred Gabe. “Please, I had no idea he’d _kill_ him, you have to swear you won’t tell the police anything! I don’t want them to find us, I don’t want them to hurt our baby, _please!_ ”

“I just saw Travie’s _corpse,_ Gabe, I don’t know if I can just--”

“Please, you have to, you can’t tell _anyone!_ You have to trust me, I swear, I know how screwed and fucked up this is but you have to trust me and make sure nobody tells the police anything about the baby or that I’m dating William!”

Ryland paused. “I… I don’t know--”

“Ryland, listen to me, you _have_ to tell them nothing, okay? And make sure nobody else tells them anything. I swear, none of it’s my fault, and if you tell the police anything, I don’t know what they’ll do to our baby if they find out! I don’t want them to take her away or even kill her, and I don’t think you do either, I have no idea what they’re capable of doing to her! Please, right now, don’t tell them anything, okay?”

There was a moment of silence over the line as he thought. Finally, he said, “I won’t tell them anything. And I’ll make sure nobody else does, either. I’ll act completely clueless about the whole thing. For you and the baby. Just promise me you’ll stay safe, okay?”

“Thank you, thank you so much! I swear, I’ll be safe--”

“Hang up,” William suddenly ordered, voice tense.

“I gotta go, Ryland, I’ll see ‘ya around, okay?”

“Gabe, wait--” Before he could finish his sentence, Gabe hung up since William kept eying him and expecting him to end it.

“Hand your phone to me.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me, Gabanti.”

Without hesitation, Gabe handed his phone to him. William took it in one hand, holding it and the steering wheel at the same time, and with his other hand rolled down the window. He then whipped the phone out the window and out onto the highway, eliciting a “Hey!” from Gabe.

“I can’t risk you being tracked,” William said, rolling up the window. “I’ll buy you a better phone when it’s all clear.”

Gabe didn’t respond. He sank back in his seat.

He had given everything up for William.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn it looks like William killed Travie :( this totally won't fuck up Gabe's entire life right?????
> 
> On another note, I've somehow been super inspired this past week and written a new chapter every single day, so right now I've got 18 unpublished chapters ahead of what I've posted so far and I can definitively say the finished fanfic will be well over 80k words. I don't know how. I'm not even that close to being finished yet. But since I'm so ahead that means I feel pretty comfortable with publishing the next chapter sooner than usual so that I don't leave you guys hanging for too long ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving y'all this chapter early like I said I would because I literally have so many more chapters because I've written way too much of this fanfic this week and I can't leave you guys for too long with how the last chapter went. Enjoy!
> 
> also acab

“I’m sure he’ll be over it in a few days,” Brendon assured William, his voice hushed since they stood outside of William’s bedroom where Gabe was audibly sobbing. “It didn’t take most of us that long to adjust.”

“Right, but it’s a different situation.”

Then Gabe’s sobs quieted down. “See? He’s already stopped crying after a few minutes. I told you he’d be fine.”

William was about to reply, but then he heard Gabe begin to recite Hebrew in trembling whispers from behind the door. It only lasted for a few seconds before they heard him burst into tears again. “Nope. He’s praying some Jewish thing. Again.”

“Oh.” Brendon shrugged. “Well, I mean, knowing him, he’ll be fine in a few days anyways. How sad could he be about his RA dying? He probably barely knew him. If he feels anything for him, it’s probably just shock. And if his friends are as pathetic as they are, he’ll get over them quickly. By the time you get him a new phone he’ll have forgotten about them. He already cut off his family, there isn’t much more to do before he’s all _yours._ ”

“I suppose so.” William glanced toward the door. He could hear Hebrew again. “I think I’ll try to talk to him. Maybe if I get him to take a nap he’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, probably. That’s a solid idea,” Brendon agreed. “If you need me, I’ll be downstairs.”

Brendon left and William slowly turned the doorknob, peering in to see Gabe sitting at the edge of the bed and lost in prayer, his head buried in his hands as an attempt to stifle his tears. William watched until he finished, then sat next to Gabe.

“I told you to leave me alone,” Gabe said, biting his lip on the last word to keep in a sob. He didn’t look up from the floor, not wanting his flustered and tear-streaked face to be seen.

“Do you want to talk?”

“No.”

It was silent for a moment until William said, “I know it must be hard.”

“You have no fucking _idea._ ”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Well, I doubt you can undo all the shit you just put me in, so _leave me alone._ ”

“You’re the one who called my name when he was threatening you. I don’t know what else you expected.”

“Oh, so this is _my_ fault?” Gabe cried out, his voice hoarse. He finally looked up at William, his eyes brimming with tears practically pleading with him. “I didn’t think you’d _kill_ him!”

“What did you think I’d do?” William implored. “Seriously, _what?_ You know me, Gabe.”

“You’ve completely screwed up my life!”

“I’m not the one who screwed up your life.” He leaned in and whispered into Gabe’s ear, “I’m not the one who had a Tumblr blog dedicated to how much you wanted to fuck me. That was all you. But aren’t _I_ worth giving up your life for? Isn’t our _baby_ worth giving up your life for?” Gabe was quiet at that, and William knew he had gotten to him. “You’re sacrificing so much for us and our daughter, and I know it’s hard, Gabanti, but it’s not like anyone else would understand that, right? But I understand. I’m always going to be here for you and our baby, okay? I love you so much.”

Gabe only said weakly, “Okay.”

“Do you think you’d feel better after a nap?”

“No.” Gabe doubted he’d be able to sleep.

“I could fill up the bathtub for you.”

Gabe considered it and said, “Okay.”

“While I’m doing that, you can watch some TV, okay?” William grabbed the remote off of the nightstand and handed it to Gabe. “I’ll be quick.”

While William was filling up the tub in the en-suite bathroom, Gabe scrolled through the channels, looking for something interesting to watch. Being it was pretty late, there wasn’t much.

He was just about to skip past the news to the next channel, when Gabe saw a picture of William’s face was being displayed. The newscaster was talking about the murder.

“—student was killed by William Beckett tonight in a dormitory at the university. Beckett also took a hostage with him who had witnessed the murder. The police have not yet released details on who the murdered student is, but the hostage is twenty-year-old Gabriel Saporta, who was last seen with Beckett. The police say Saporta is pregnant and warn he could be in serious danger. If you have any information, call—”

William, overhearing the TV from the bathroom, came rushing in and stole the remote from Gabe. “You don’t need to be watching this.” He turned off the TV and set down the remote. “Come in the bathroom with me, the tub’s almost filled up completely anyway.”

Gabe quietly followed him into the bathroom. The tub wasn’t even that close to being full. In silence, they waited by the bathtub for a few more minutes until it was full enough for William to turn off the water. “Is that temperature good enough?”

Gabe stuck his finger into the water. “Yeah.”

“I’ll be back in the bedroom if you need me.”

“Wait,” Gabe said, voice timid. “Could… could you come in the bath with me?”

William smiled gently at him. “Of course.”

They stripped off their clothes. Gabe fumbled uselessly enough with the button of his jeans that he needed William to help him because his fingers were trembling so much.

When they got into the bath, Gabe leaned his head on William’s shoulder and stared up at the ceiling. The only sound apart from silence was the steadying rippling of the water.

Eventually, William sat up and took the shampoo bottle in his hand. “I’ll wash your hair.”

Gabe just nodded and, after rinsing his hair, sat across from William for him to massage the lavender-scented shampoo into his hair.

“I’m sorry I freaked out at you earlier,” Gabe eventually spoke up, uncharacteristically mousy by the way he seemed to be trying to shrink into himself while he talked. “I know you’re just trying to do what’s best. I love you so much. It’s just a lot right now.”

“It’s okay,” William said, taking his fingers away from his hair to grab the showerhead that was attached to the end of the tub. He began to rinse Gabe’s hair. “You did nothing wrong. You’ve been through a lot in a short amount of time and you’re dealing with it the best you can. If you need anything, just let me know. I’m always here for you, okay? I love you.”

“Thank you.”

William finished rinsing his hair and pressed a kiss to Gabe’s lips. “It’s no problem.”

“Wait,” Gabe whined as William leaned back, “Kiss me again.”

William leaned forward and kissed him longer, placing his hands on Gabe’s submerged waist. He only had planned on kissing him for a few seconds, but Gabe wrapped his arms around William’s neck and pulled him in closer.

“Can you—”

“You know I can’t,” William said, although his quick glance at Gabe’s neck told him he was tempted.

“It’s almost been a _week_ since the hospital, it’s probably fine.”

“We said two weeks.”

“Don’t you think I need the distraction?”

“If you really insist, I can distract you in other ways.”

“No. Bite me. Come on, please, it’s been a shitty day. Make an exception.”

William considered it. “And you’re sure you’re thinking clearly?”

“Of course.”

“Only a little, then.” He said, pressing his nose to Gabe’s wet neck.

“That’s fine.”

William bit into his neck. He sighed as he tasted the blood, filled with hormones and having a more pronounced flavor after abstaining for what felt like so long. Gabe’s moans echoed off the bathroom walls and his hands travelled to William’s damp hair, gripping the strands tighter with the ecstasy. When William pulled himself away from Gabe’s neck, a few drops of blood fell off his lips and landed in the water, diluting the redness until it disappeared into the water completely and left a slight red tint to it.

William grinned with his crimson lips. He certainly had no regrets. “Fuck, _Gabe._ ” He exhaled his name as if it was a fresh breath of air. “I missed your blood.”

Gabe didn’t have the chance to say anything more before William was pulling him by his waist onto his lap and kissing him again, smearing warm blood above Gabe’s top lip. Gabe let himself sink into the kiss in an attempt to forget everything. He didn’t need to think about anything, he didn’t need to be aware of anything except for William’s numbing touch.

And then Gabe opened his eyes just for a second. He saw the blood sprawled across their bodies and the bath and he couldn’t help but remember. He felt as if he was sinking into the water deeper and deeper despite being propped up on William’s lap, about to drown underneath the red that had taken over the marble bathtub and choke on it.

Gabe tried to pull away, but at first William didn’t seem to register he was trying to stop as he only tried to tug Gabe closer. At that, Gabe panicked and pushed William away, crying, “Stop, stop, stop!”

William immediately ceased. As soon as he saw the freaked-out expression on Gabe’s face, he worriedly asked, “Gabe, what’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Gabe recomposed himself and shook his head. “No. You’re fine. I just… I don’t know.”

“I’m so sorry. This was a bad idea.”

“No… it’s fine. I don’t know why I suddenly felt like that.”

William dipped his hand into the water and was about to wash the blood off his face when Gabe grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Seriously, it’s fine now! I just won’t open my eyes again. Keep kissing me. Keep the blood there.”

“Are you sure?”

 _No._ “Yes.”

And so Gabe tried to forget again.

Ryland watched as the police searched him and Gabe’s dorm room, picking up and scrutinizing every object. So far, they had taken a bloody handkerchief found in a desk drawer as evidence. They were especially confused by the prominent map of thumbtacks, photographing it an extensive number of times. 

As he waited outside the room to be interrogated, Ryland was still internally debating how much to tell the investigators. He knew in his gut William deserved to be caught. However, taking into consideration the situation, was it _really_ worth the supposed risk of putting Gabe and their daughter in danger? The desperation in Gabe’s voice when he had called him had influenced him into feeling a sense of obligation to help Gabe and his baby and _lie_ to the police for him, which he could probably get more than a slap on the wrist for. Now Ryland had the decision whether to act on said obligation.

He could only think of his decision as he stared into the dorm room. If he let his eyes stray anywhere else, he would see the bulky body bag again. He didn’t want to see the body bag again.

Eventually, an officer approached Ryland and told him she had to question him, told him the usual rights, and suggested they take a seat in the common area.

The questions started out easy. Ryland’s name, age, asking to confirm he was Gabe Saporta’s roommate. He wasn’t exactly as much of a witness to the crime as the other students who had heard the entire confrontation from outside their doors; because Ryland had stumbled across the chaos just after it had been discovered, his answers to questions about what he had seen could be unhelpfully brief and it wasn’t long before the officer was asking about what he knew about Gabe.

“How long have you known Gabriel Saporta?”

“About one year, since we became roommates.”

“How close are you and him?”

“Pretty close,” Ryland said, his weary eyes looking directly at the officer. He felt empty as he added, “We’re best friends.”

“Did you know about his connections to William Beckett?”

“No.” As soon as he said that, his heart started to race. The pounding filled his ears. He reminded himself it was _for the baby, it’s for the baby, it’s for Gabe and the baby._ “I had no idea. I’ve never met him. William Beckett, I mean. I never met him. Gabe never said anything about him.”

“Was there ever anything off you noticed?”

“Never.” He watched as the officer jotted down quick notes as he spoke. It felt incriminating. Ryland had no idea whether his answers were believable or not, but hopefully being a theatre major counted for something. “Nothing comes to mind. Gabe seemed completely normal.”

“Do you know any information about where he could be? Have you had any contact with him since he was taken?”

“No contact. He wouldn’t answer my texts or calls. I have no idea where he could be.”

“Do you know anything about how Gabriel and Travis McCoy got along? Would there be any reason for him to wish harm against Travis?”

“Gabe and Travie sorta knew each other. I can’t imagine any reason why Gabe would want to hurt him. Travie could be a little annoying sometimes, but that’s just how RAs are. Gabe knew he meant well.”

Ryland managed to get through a few more questions, until the officer asked, “Oh, and do you know anything about what the map on the wall of your dorm room is for? Did Gabriel ever mention anything about it?”

The image of the body bag was still distracting his mind from anything else, so Ryland conveniently threw up before he got the chance to answer.

Diego Saporta was woken up by his phone’s persistent ringing at two in the morning. He rushed to pick up as soon as he saw the number was calling from Chicago, hoping it was Gabe. His heart sank when the caller said it was the Chicago police department and that Gabriel Eduardo Saporta had been taken hostage by the all-too-familiar name of William Beckett.

Pete Wentz got the call around three in the morning from a friend that Travis McCoy was dead, killed violently by William Beckett. Just as Pete thought he had no tears left, he proved to have more as he realized it was his fault for sending Travie to his death when he had told him to call Gabe. Even though he had _told_ him not to confront Gabe, he did it anyway. Of course he did. Pete should have known he would.

And as the sun crept above the Chicago skyline, the police noticed. They noticed the inconsistencies in Ryland’s answers to everything else they had heard so far and began to plan to question who else was known to associate with Gabe.

And they noticed how the thumbtacks on Gabe’s map matched up with the locations of suspected Dandy murders, except for the pink thumbtacks whose purpose had yet to be discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked the chapter! Maybe there's some trauma going on, maybe there's not, who knows. I know there's not a ton that seems to be going on in this chapter but the action will return shortly ;)
> 
> And some good news: I'll probably be able to finish this fanfic over the summer if I keep writing at the rate I do so even when I start college you'll still be getting consistent updates! Yay!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still remember where I was when I wrote this chapter, on my way to a college visit, because writing the beginning dialogue was so fun. Kinda wild how much the world's changed since then. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Gabe felt like he was being watched. All the damn time.

He could barely get more than five minutes of privacy. William had probably instructed the Dandies to keep a close eye on Gabe, which was understandable considering the situation, but in Gabe’s current state he really didn’t feel like being around anyone. He didn’t want to talk to Sisky or whoever else lingered to start a conversation when Gabe was just trying to get a snack from the fridge in peace. And Gabe didn’t really want to play video games with Brendon either, who suggested it right after Gabe had just stepped out of the bathroom where he usually hid to cry.

But Gabe agreed to play video games with him anyway. He didn’t have much better to do since William was out hunting with the others. However, Brendon ended up shirking what he’d originally suggested by becoming distracted by his phone before they’d even turned on the console, forcing Gabe to play alone.

“Anything interesting?” Gabe asked, glancing away from the game for a second.

“No!” Brendon was immediately defensive, shrinking back and tilting his phone screen away even though Gabe wasn’t even looking at it.

Sighing, Gabe paused the game. “Brendon, what is it? Are you looking at porn or keeping secrets?”

“Um… well, William told me to keep you from finding out this, so don’t tell him I said this, but the security footage of you guys from the other night was leaked. When he killed that guy in your dorm. So now everyone on the internet has made the connection that William Beckett’s mysterious lover is… uh, _you._ ”

Gabe blinked, and then demanded, “Show me. Show me the footage.”

“Are you sure? Because, like, William said he didn’t think you’d be able to handle it.”

“I can handle it _fine._ He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Just don’t tell him I showed you this.” Gabe nodded, and Brendon reluctantly moved closer on the couch to show him the video. It was several minutes long, showing the events of last night in fuzzy 240p quality. The video started with a clip of about an hour before it happened, when Gabe had walked into his dorm room hand-in-hand with William, smiling and chatting. Whoever had leaked it had very unhelpfully added their own captions and visuals in editing it, adding a red arrow to point at Gabe’s bump and other useless commentary speculating on their behavior. Then it cut to when Travie had walked up to the door.

Before Gabe had answered the door, Travie had been pacing outside the door and pulled out his cellphone once, holding it in his hand and probably debating whether just to call the police right away until he eventually put it back in his pocket and knocked.

In a way, it was both easier and harder to see it on camera. Gabe felt detached from the situation as he saw himself pleading with Travie to not call the police on William, as if it was only part of a friend’s film class project he’d been in for fun. Then William had come out of the dorm room and began to kill Travie, and suddenly it was as if Gabe was seeing from first-person perspective all over again.

Brendon paused the video. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Gabe felt ashamed showing weakness around William as it was; showing weakness around Brendon was absolutely unthinkable. They were all vampires who were acquainted to murder and dismissive of mortality; Gabe was _supposed_ to be cool with it, being William’s boyfriend, at the cost of Gabe bottling up his feelings and being unable to properly work through his emotions. He was aware this probably wasn’t healthy, but he didn’t want to think about it. Gabe just hoped the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes weren’t noticeable and that his voice stayed steady. “See? I can handle it. I just wish William had told me that the whole world knows I’m his _boyfriend_ now and that everyone’s gonna know my fucking face forever.”

“He was gonna tell you eventually, now’s just—”

“I know, now’s _not_ a good time apparently.” Gabe grabbed the video game controller again and resumed the game to avoid eye contact with Brendon. “I’m just some fucking emotional pregnant hormonal human who can’t handle shit. Fuck, it’s just so obvious, isn’t it?” His fingers jabbed at the game controller buttons ruthlessly.

“You’re not supposed to be able to handle any of this.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“That’s not a bad thing, Gabe. You’re seriously doing better than I ever could in this kind of situation if I was a human. I really admire you. You’ve had to put up with a lot and you’re getting through it.”

“ _Getting through it,_ ” Gabe repeated. “Yeah. I’m _really_ handling this amazingly, aren’t I? I’m really good at pretending I can get over that I’ve had to cut off everyone I know and that I’m putting my daughter in danger just because William is her father, right?”

“You get over it eventually. And you know William and us are gonna protect your daughter with our lives. It might not be soon, but you’ll be able to move on at some point. Maybe when you’re turned. That usually helps.”

“You can try all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact it feels like the world is after us.”

“It doesn’t. You just learn to ignore it:”

“How the fuck do you learn to ignore it?” Gabe lost the round of the video game and twisted around to face him. “Like, seriously, genuine question. How?”

“Murder,” Brendon said. He got up to finally get a game controller to join the game and flopped back down on the couch. “But I’m sure you already knew that. It’s William’s response to everything, isn’t it? It’s all of our responses to shit. Cut him some slack. You’ll understand it when you’re a vampire. I didn’t get it until then. It’s like all of a sudden everything is… clear. Like I suddenly had a discernible purpose, you know?”

Gabe fiddled around with the controller joysticks, starting a new game for them to play while they talked. “I don’t even know if I want to completely understand it. Like, considering everything that’s happening right now, I’d rather wait to be turned.”

Brendon chuckled. “Yeah, like William would be patient enough to wait. I thought you wanted to be turned as soon as possible. Why the hell would you wanna wait? There’s no chance at reconnecting with your family and friends beforehand to say your goodbyes. They practically consider you one of us now.”

“I know. I just… I gotta really think about it more first. I haven’t done much thinking and look where it’s got me.”

“That’s such a philosophy major thing to say. You shouldn’t worry about it, you would have gotten here either way unless you were never met William in the first place. Anyways, even if you want to think about it, you can’t just _tell_ him you want to wait. I mean, he’s mostly fine with idea of consent with stuff like sex, but turning? Nah. He’ll just do it anyway, because once you’re turned, you just don’t care whether you wanted it or not in the first place, but mostly because he doesn’t care.”

“With everything going on, he’s got to understand—”

“He wouldn’t be happy if you told him you wanted to wait, to say the least. He’s really fucking excited to turn you, you know that?” Brendon set down his controller on his lap and turned himself to narrow his eyes at Gabe. “You want to hear the nice version or _real_ version of what he’s described?”

Gabe’s face paled. “Real?” He slowly lowered his controller, ignoring the TV screen. “What do you mean by that?”

“Like, I don’t know how much you’d like what you’d hear if I tell you exactly what he said.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Are you sure you—”

“I can handle it, yes, Brendon, just tell me.”

“Okay.” Brendon’s tone suddenly became much more serious. “You’ve never seen him turn someone, but from what I can tell you from experience, it’s not all sweet and romantic. Should I continue?”

A shiver went down Gabe’s spine, already anticipating, but he was still intrigued. “Yeah.”

“When he says it’s happening, it’s happening whether you like it or not. You can’t make him change his mind, whether he’s planned it to be a few hours after he tells you or right at the spur of the moment. Anyways, he’ll tie you up somewhere, probably in you guys’ bedroom. And he’ll bite down hard, and when I say hard, I mean it. Everything you’ve felt so far has been gentle in comparison. William’s pretty sadistic when it comes to turning. He wants to bite your neck and wrists and legs all over, so anyone who sees the scars will know you’re his. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some scratching, too. And the pain gets worse as he drains you of your blood. He wants to hear you screaming in pain, crying out for him while covered in blood. A lot of blood. Then he’s gonna bite into his arm and make you drink his own blood. The first taste is addictive, and once you really start drinking it, you start to get pretty hot and bothered a few minutes later and it goes from there and... you start turning a while after that.”

Gabe was frozen for a few seconds, staring at Brendon until he finally said, “Wow.”

“I should’ve told you the nice version, shouldn’t I?”

“No. I mean, I guess I’m not that surprised.” Gabe wasn’t necessarily shocked it’d be like that, but shocked it would be like... _that_. Of course he had imagined how it would go down when the time came, but in a much different light. He probably should have at least guessed that William would be rough. “Wait, so drinking his blood will make me horny?”

“Yeah, uh… it does.”

Gabe’s face grew flustered. “Wait, does that mean you’ve...”

Brendon cleared his throat. “Yeah. We’ve all, um, fucked him. It’s a pretty normal thing with vampires. But now that you guys are dating, he wouldn’t anymore if he turns anyone else after you. Anyways, don’t tell him I told you all of this. He wanted to talk to you about turning in more detail when you were feeling better.”

“Oh. Okay. I won’t tell him. So you really don’t think he’d budge from turning me right away?”

“It’d be smarter to keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself,” Brendon suggested. “I’m not stopping you, but I promise you, he wouldn’t react great.”

In the early hours of the morning, Vicky, Alex, and Nate were all woken at some point by a call from Ryland explaining the situation and telling them to lie to the police if they wanted to question them. After fully processing what they had been told to do, they were especially apprehensive about Ryland’s advice (except Vicky, she was already prepared to lie) but since they didn’t want to endanger Gabe’s baby, they really had no choice but to agree.

Vicky was the first one to be questioned.

“Did you know of his connections to William Beckett?”

“William Bucket?” Vicky asked, scrunching her eyebrows. “Who’s that?”

“William _Beckett._ ”

“Who?”

“A wanted vampire and leader of the Dandy gang.”

“Gabe? Knowing someone like that?” Vicky wrinkled her nose. “No way. Gabe was way too boring for someone like that.”

“So you did not know he knew William Beckett?”

“Absolutely not! I’ve never even _heard_ of him.”

Alex was the second one to be questioned.

“Was there anything you ever noticed that was out of the ordinary?”

Alex pretended to think for a second. “No, I don’t think there was. I knew Gabe got a boyfriend, but like, he never really acted weird about it. Nobody knew he was dating _the_ William Beckett, you know? We never got to meet his boyfriend and he never brought it up and we were all fine. Even when we all talked or joked about Beckett, you know, ‘cause he’s in the news all the time, Gabe acted normal.”

“By ‘we all’, are you referring to you and Gabriel’s shared friends? Ryland Blackington, Victoria Asher, Nate Novarro?”

“Yes.”

“So you all of you, including those I listed, were aware of William Beckett’s existence before this incident?”

“Yes,” Alex said, before he could realize he’d probably made a mistake considering the specific question.

Nate was the third one to be questioned.

“Have you had any contact with him since he was taken hostage?”

“No.” He fidgeted with his hands, solely looking down at them and avoiding eye contact with the officer. “Not me.”

“Have you been aware of anyone else having any form of contact with him?”

“No.”

“Mr. Novarro,” the officer began, with his best attempt at falsifying sympathy. "Anything you can tell us will be of great help to the investigation. We only want to help Gabe. William Beckett is a highly dangerous vampire and the more we know, the sooner we can help Gabe get away from him.”

“I don’t know anything.” He still avoided eye contact. He was silent for a moment, and just as the officer was about to open his mouth again, Nate admitted, “Okay, okay, _look,_ Gabe called someone, but I don’t know anything about it! All he said was that he’s safe and then hung up and none of us have been able to get in touch with him since. That’s it!”

The police found enough cause to arrest Ryland, Vicky, and Alex for lying to them.

Gabe and William were lying in bed, pressed close together with the lights having been dimmed and the thick curtains shut tight. They were partially waiting to fall asleep, mostly waiting for the baby to kick as William’s hand rested on Gabe’s bump.

William glanced up from Gabe’s stomach to study his dim face. After a moment, he said, “You’re thinking about something.”

“How’d you know?”

“I just know,” William said. “What is it?”

“It’s stupid.”

“Just tell me. Whatever it is, it can’t be stupid.”

Gabe inhaled deeply and then said, “So, you know how we were planning that I’d be turned not that long after I give birth?”

William clearly didn’t like where this was going. “...Right.”

“I don’t know, I’ve just been thinking… I think it might be better if we waited. At least a few months after she’s born. Everything lately has just been chaotic and I think turning would just be…”

“You don’t know how things will be in four months.” William’s voice had a defensive edge to it. “By then everything will be fine. I’m not waiting, Gabe.”

“I just think--”

“Gabanti, you’re being _ridiculous._ ” William giggled. “You’ll be a vampire when I decide you will be. And I want that as soon as possible. I love you so much, that’s why I can’t possibly wait.”

“No.” Saying the word seemed to cause a thick, choking tension to appear. “I mean, I love you too and I do want it, it’s just--”

“Just what?” William’s hand moved off his stomach and under Gabe’s jaw, which he stroked with the knuckles of his curled fingers. “You don’t know _shit_ about this,” William assured him. “Once you experience it, you’ll regret wanting to wait.”

“But--”

“You’re being silly, Gabanti. What are you holding out for? Do you think you’ll somehow be able to reconnect with your family and friends before then? They’re never going to want to talk to you again. They won’t want a relationship with our daughter.”

“No, it’d be nice, but that’s not why. I just think that--”

William suddenly kissed him for a few moments, then pulled back and said, “You’re mine. You belong to me. And you’re going to be a vampire when I tell you to be one. I’m gonna tie you to the bed and bite you and give you my blood and you’ll be _begging_ for more and _begging_ to be fucked, and you’re gonna look so fucking hot covered in my blood. Do you think I can _wait_ for that? Five months is hard enough as it is. It's plenty of time for you. After you give birth I’ll give you a few days to bond with the baby and recover, and then I’ll turn you and you’ll _fucking like it,_ okay? There’s absolutely no reason for you to be opposed to it. I have experience with this and you don’t.”

Gabe nodded quickly, his eyes wide. “Okay.” He’d never been this terrified of William before; the fear somehow felt like a betrayal.

“Good. I don’t want you to bring this up again.” William kissed him again before Gabe could protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn poor Gabe :( but like... it's still fine... or not... idk :/ I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is definitely a longer one, so get comfy! ;) (Also, antisemitism tw for this chapter)

It was yet another night, their previous disagreement about turning being forgotten for now in exchange for a moment of ignorance and peace. Gabe was snuggled in William’s arms on the bed while they watched TV, when the baby started to kick again. Gabe groaned, “Dios mío, she kicks _so_ much, it’s tiring.”

“She’s kicking?” William rushed to lift up Gabe’s shirt and placed his hand on his bare stomach. “I don’t feel it.”

“She just stopped. Maybe you calmed her down?” Although Gabe felt sorry it seemed like every time their daughter’s kicking ceased whenever William tried to feel it, it was standard by now. He was more focused on how _nice_ it felt to have William’s hand on his skin, considering that they hadn’t really had much of a chance to hook up lately because of Gabe’s constant breakdowns since moving in.

William kept his hand on Gabe’s stomach for another minute. When he gave up and took his hand off, Gabe protested, “No, keep your hand there. I miss you touching me.”

“In what way?” William inquired, a knowing smirk on his lips.

“You _know._ ”

“Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Maybe.”

“I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me.” William slowly brought his face closer to Gabe’s. “What is it?”

“Fuck me.”

William’s hands drifted down to Gabe’s hips, slipping below the waistband of his pajama pants and pushing them to his thighs. “You sure you’re up to it?”

“Mhm, I need it. It feels like it’s been so _long._ ”

“I’ll fuck you hard. You deserve it.” William then kissed him, his grip on his hips tightening and his nails digging into his skin. Gabe responded much more eagerly than the last time, smiling into the kiss. It was becoming increasingly harder to grind his hips up against William as his stomach had grown, but they _definitely_ could still make do. Gabe’s moans caused William to bite Gabe’s lip, the blood falling on both their tongues and only driving William even more crazy. He quickly sat up, pulling Gabe up with him so that they could change their positions and William could more easily unbutton his own pants while still kissing Gabe.

Once he had finally kicked his pants off, William tore away from the kiss to yank his shirt over his head and throw it across the bed, then he took Gabe’s off as well. Once that had been done, he snatched Gabe’s wrist, staring directly into his eyes as he lifted it to his mouth and bit into it. Gabe gasped in pleasure at the sensation as William drank, crying out, “Oh, _mierda!_ ”

William finished drinking and had a bloody grin as he let Gabe’s wrist fall from his grip. He spit on his hand the warm blood, making sure it coated his fingers, and hissed out, “Take off your boxers and spread your legs for me, you _slut._ ”

Gabe rushed to take off his boxers and spread his legs open. William got to his knees and sat between Gabe’s legs. He rested his hands on Gabe’s inner thighs as he teasingly leaned in to lick up his hard cock. Gabe moaned, his heels digging into the bedsheets. “Fuck, I need you.”

“You gotta be patient.” He licked Gabe’s cock again before he finally began to stretch him with his bloody fingers. While he stretched him, he accidentally hit Gabe’s prostate, causing a loud moan. William purposefully brushed the spot again, which made Gabe throw his head back in desperation. “How much do you need me?”

" _Fuck,_ I need you so fucking bad!”

William took out his fingers and leaned over Gabe so his cold breath met his skin. “Tell me you’re _mine,_ that you belong to me.”

“I’m yours, I belong to _you,_ only you!”

A satisfied smirk grew on William’s lips. “Good.” He lined himself up with Gabe and slowly began to enter him. Once he was fully in, he snapped his hips outward and then in quickly, causing both of them to moan.

William continued thrusting with a rapid pace, motivated by Gabe’s constant moaning and swearing. At some point, he pinned Gabe’s hands down against the bed and leaned back over him, biting into his neck because he just needed more, more of Gabe, more of everything he perceived as belonging to him. As soon as William’s fangs sunk in, Gabe climaxed and came, screaming, “ _Fuck,_ Bilvy!”

William was still careful not to take too much blood and took out his fangs, kissing Gabe just as he had finished so he could taste the blood on his tongue. With a few more thrusts, William came too, breaking the kiss to moan Gabe’s name as well.

A few hours later, Gabe was reading a book while sitting on a window seat in the bedroom. By now, he had mostly adjusted to William’s nocturnal schedule, and it was extremely nice to be able to stay up late without weariness weighing on his eyelids.

A tap at the window from beside Gabe startled him and he jumped as he saw a face through the glass. 

Gabe leapt to his feet, his book dropping from his hands to the floor. Someone had climbed up and was now clinging to the second floor window who, upon closer inspection, turned out to be Pete. He motioned for Gabe to open the window.

Gabe stared back at Pete for a second, trying to dispel his initial alarm before he leaned over, unlocked the window, and pushed it up along with the screen. Pete crawled in onto the window seat and then stood in front of Gabe.

“Gabe, are you okay?” Pete asked, concerned. His eyes raked over the skin of his Gabe’s neck and lowered to his wrist, seeing the fresh bites that had been left.

“Yeah. Why the hell are you here? If William sees you—”

“Because I’m worried about you. If suddenly Travie’s dead and you’ve gone missing, of course I’m gonna try to find you.”

“Don’t act like this isn’t your fault!” Gabe scolded, his voice hushed. “If you hadn’t told Travie to call the police—”

“It’s nobody’s fault but Beckett’s. We can’t blame each other anymore, okay?”

Gabe considered what he said and nodded. “Okay. Well, anyways, I’m fine. You can clearly see that.”

Pete looked doubtful. “ _Right._ ” He began to wander around the room, carefully studying the contents on the top of a cluttered dresser and taking a glance into an open closet as if he was looking for more incriminating evidence. “Your friends got arrested, by the way.”

“Wait, what do you mean they got _arrested?_ ”

“I only heard about it, but I guess they were lying when they got questioned. I think two of them were accused of making false statements, but somehow the police found a way to charge Ryland with being an accessory since he got everyone to lie for you.”

“Ryland and two others? Who didn’t get arrested?”

“I think... Nate, was it? Some dude with a name like that got off the hook. Bootlicker, right?”

At first, Gabe felt a spark of gratitude to know Ryland had kept his promise to lie to the police and convince everyone else to do the same, but the feeling was quickly replaced by a more so overbearing guilt. They could receive charges, all because Gabe told them to lie for his and his daughter’s sake. “ _Fuck,_ this is all my—”

“Don’t blame yourself. Blame Beckett.”

“It’s just not that simple!”

“Well, it’s not like there’s anything we can do about it now.”

“Maybe if I tell William about it, he could hire them good lawyers…”

“Possibly. I guess you just gotta figure a different way you would have found out other than me to tell him. But anyways, we’re getting off-topic.” Pete reached the trashcan in the corner of the room, the top of which was covered in balled-up tissues that had been used to clean up whatever remained of the blood that night. Pete picked up one of the red, crusty tissues and held it up for Gabe to see. “Dude, this is a _lot_ of blood. Are you sure you’re really okay?”

“Of course. It was his first time drinking since I was in the hospital,” Gabe lied. “Pete, I really think you should le—”

Pete ignored him, pinching a clean corner of the tissue between his fingers as he inspected it. “Is he still having rough sex with you?”

“That’s not any of your business!”

Pete threw the tissue away again and walked over, lifting Gabe’s shirt just enough to see his hips. They were covered in bruises, small blotches of blue and black that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of his skin. “I knew it. I was bruised there when he turned me. But the _audacity_ he has to do it when you’re pregnant—”

Gabe swallowed a lump in his throat. He glanced down at the bruises. “It’s fine, it was consensual.”

“It’s not fine when you’re pregnant. He’s treating you like shit. You’ve gotta get out of here!”

“He’s… he’s doing his best.” His voice trembled as tears gathered in his eyes. He gently pushed Pete’s hands off of the hem of his shirt. “Even if I _wanted_ to run away, I can’t. Nobody would want to talk to me anymore. Everyone would blame me for…” Gabe’s voice cracked, “ _everything._ It’s not safe for me and the baby.” The sob he had been biting back was let out. “I _need_ William!”

Suddenly, Gabe hugged Pete. Which was something he never thought he would do, but _damn it,_ he was crying and he needed to tell someone how he felt. Pete wrapped his arms around him tight, rubbing Gabe’s back. “He’s just trying to manipulate you, Gabe.” Pete whispered, “Nobody would blame you. Everyone misses you, they’re adamant about finding you. I’m always here for you. I swear, I’ll protect you from him if you let me help you.”

Gabe kept crying into his shoulder. “But I _love_ him, even if there’s all this shit, I couldn’t leave him. I love him so fucking much.”

While he was crying into Pete’s embrace, Gabe felt his daughter start to kick. He smiled into Pete’s shoulder, his crying starting to cease. “She’s kicking.”

“Woah, what?”

Gabe sniffled. “Do you wanna—“

They were interrupted by William calling out from the hallway, “Gabe, I gotta talk to you about something for a quick second!”

The baby stopped kicking and Pete immediately let go of Gabe. “I’ll be back sometime.” He promised before he bolted to the window and crawled out. His feet had just disappeared just as William opened the bedroom door.

“Gabanti, are you okay?” William asked, seeing his tear-stained face. Gabe nodded.

“Yeah. I’m fine. What is it?”

“I was gonna ask you—” There was a thump and rustling outside from what sounded like a bush. “What the hell was that?”

Gabe stepped aside to let William look out the window and prayed he wouldn’t see Pete fleeing. Luckily, he didn’t seem to spot anything out of the ordinary.

“That was odd.” William shrugged, shutting the window and turning back around after one final glance. “I’ll have one of the Dandies take a look around in a minute. Anyways, you said you wanted to make a... Shabbat dinner for Friday? Can you make a list of the groceries you’ll need so one of the Dandies can go buy it tomorrow night?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” William kissed his cheek and took both of his hands in his. “Are you sure you’re really okay? If you ever need to talk to me about anything, I’m always here for you.”

“Thanks. I’m fine, though, really. Just crying about the usual stuff. You don’t have to worry.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

William still didn’t believe him and sighed. “Is it still about what I said about turning? I’m sorry if I came off as too harsh.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s fine. I told you, it’s the usual stuff. Missing people and my life and shit.”

William let go of his hands and hugged him, holding Gabe close. “It’s okay. You’ll be over them eventually.”

Gabe spent an afternoon making Shabbat dinner for himself and William, which William had suggested he could do to help Gabe feel more at home once William had the concept explained to him several times. However, preparing it only served as a reminder of Gabe’s loneliness.

As Gabe simultaneously made the challah dough and prayed for his daughter and everyone he had left behind, Gabe remembered how his mother had taught him to braid it when he was younger and guided his tiny hands. That was before she had left. If Gabe was beginning to miss his mother, who he hadn’t missed in a _long_ time and instead despised, his current situation felt even more dire.

When he set the candle holders for the Shabbat candles on the table, which weren’t anything special and just whatever candle holders they could find lying around the house, Gabe remembered the last Passover together with his family, gathered around the table for the seder as Ilana had lit the candles. It had been before everyone had known Gabe was pregnant, before they had figured out William was an infamous vampire, before Gabe had to cut his family off to keep them safe. He had no idea back then that he’d now be setting up Shabbat candles completely alone and suffocating in William’s house.

Gabe set out the food onto the table, which was only enough for himself since he knew William wouldn’t be able to eat it. The small portions on a table set for Shabbat made it feel bare.

William woke up earlier than he usually would to join Gabe for the Shabbat dinner just as the sun was setting. Gabe lit the Shabbat candles and covered his eyes as he said the blessing over them, then he poured the wine for Kiddush into a plain crystal wine glass he’d found in a cupboard instead of a usual Kiddush cup and recited the blessing. William watched politely as Gabe did the traditions, trying to appreciate what was going on but still somewhat confused on the proper etiquette.

“Now I’m going to go wash my hands and say the blessing before eating the challah.” Gabe explained to him. William started to get up, but Gabe stopped him and said, “No, you shouldn’t since you’re not going to eat the challah. Also, I can’t say anything until I eat the challah. Which is weird, I know, but it’s just a thing.”

William was still visibly confused, but nodded. “Okay.”

Gabe went and washed his hands in the kitchen, saying the blessing as he did, and then returned to the dining room to pull off a piece of challah. He took a bite of the piece and after he finished chewing, said, “Okay, now we can talk.”

“Great.” William smiled. “That was, uh, interesting. I can’t wait to do it… did you say it’s every week?”

“Yeah. You don’t have a problem with that, right? Because no matter what, I’m raising our daughter Jewish.”

“Of course, I’m totally fine with it,” William said, taking a sip of wine. “Just… unfamiliar. But I still can’t wait.”

“Great.” Gabe served himself the food he had made besides the challah, which included kugel, tzimmes, a flatbread salad with hummus, and for dessert, brownies. “So, I heard that my friends were arrested for lying to the police.”

William’s eyes widened and he swallowed down another swig of wine. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Online,” Gabe quickly said. “And since they did keep their promise and lie for us, I think... it’s only fair you could at least hire them good legal representation.”

William nodded slightly, contemplating the possibility. “And you’re completely sure they’re not just rumors?”

“Yeah.”

“I still don’t know about it. If they were caught lying, then surely they were interrogated more and said more than they intended to. Humans crack easily.”

“We don’t know that.”

“I know they probably did. I don’t trust them and you shouldn’t either, after everything that’s been going on. If I do get them legal help, people will start getting suspicious how broke college students from middle-class families acquired some hotshot lawyers, anyway. It’s safer for us and your friends if we don’t get involved.”

“I don’t think I could sleep knowing I could put them in jail.”

“You sleep just fine now knowing how many people I’ve killed right in front of you.”

Gabe had stopped eating, instead dragging his fork through the kugel. The warm scent was no longer appetizing, instead starting to remind him of home. “It’s the least you could--”

The crash of shattering glass from behind the walls broke the formerly peaceful and calm Shabbat atmosphere that had already been on the verge of crumbling, ridding it of any illusion of shalom bayit that would be assumed by the tranquility of the candles and challah. William shot up from his seat. Wine sloshed out of the glass in his hand and soaked the tablecloth as the interruption was followed by more broken glass from outside the room, the heavy wooden thump of a door being broken down, and the scattered, overbearing footsteps of a number of people busting into the house.

“They found us!” William hissed. There was no time to waste; he ran to Gabe’s seat and lifted him into his arms to carry him, bumping the table and knocking the Shabbat candles over in the process. The flames went out as they fell. From outside the dining room, he could hear the screams and hisses of Dandies fighting against the police to keep them away from the dining room. Although every thought in William’s head was trying to persuade him to stay and fight, to make those cops _pay_ with their blood and lives for ruining the Shabbat dinner Gabe worked so hard to prepare, he knew Gabe’s safety was far more important and so he raced out the doorway with him in his arms.

Gabe caught only a glimpse of the chaos, of all the blood and violence. After that he shut his eyes and held onto William tight, just praying they’d get away safely.

William was fast, evading anyone trying to catch or shoot at him with the help of various Dandies distracting and attacking anyone who dared to try. He managed to get out the door to the backyard, fleeing into the wooded area out back and not stopping when he heard the yells of police pointing in their direction. After running through the patch of forest for a few minutes, he came across a fence which he knew would be too tall to jump over with Gabe in his arms. Instead, William ran off to the side and down a hill, where there happened to be a large enough rock jutting out of the hillside that he hid him and Gabe under.

They sat under the rock, holding each other as close as they could and staring into each other’s eyes in absolute silence and stillness. A minute after they had hid under the rock, they heard the police officers from up the hillside. From up there, the huge mass of rock didn’t appear to have a gap underneath it and the forest looked as usual. Behind the trees beyond the hillside, the faint whir of cars driving past on the highway was all that could be heard in the night.

“I don’t see where they could have gone,” one of the officers commented, “It’s all highway back there.” 

“Maybe they’ll get hit. That would make our jobs hell of a lot easier.”

Another officer chuckled. “Damn, I hope so. I’m not risking my life and the chance of killing _William_ fucking _Beckett_ for nothing, and if I have to kill his bitch and whatever fucking spawn of Satan he got impregnated with, so be it.”

“Did’ya hear he’s a Jew?”

“His bitch?”

“Yeah. And some fucking dirty immigrant, too.”

“Then I’ll be sleeping well if I get the chance to shoot him. No wonder a _k*ke_ would wanna be Beckett’s whore. Let’s head back and tell the guys that we tried, I don’t see anything.”

Once they were sure the police officers were gone, William helped Gabe out from under the rock and hissed under his breath, “I’m going to fucking _kill_ those pigs who said that shit once I have the chance.”

Gabe clung tight to William with one hand and with the other brushed clumps of mud off his knees. He pretended to be unphased by it, but there was no mistaking the scared look in his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. What do we do now?”

“I’ll hotwire one of the neighbor’s cars,” William said. They didn’t have any time to waste, so he took Gabe’s hand and quickly began walking away with him as he explained the plan. The dry leaves left over from the previous autumn crunched underneath their feet. “From there, we’ll drive into the country. I’ve got a box hidden in the middle of nowhere with fake IDs, money, and a burner phone. I prepared it before I met you, though, so I only have fake IDs for me and all the Dandies except you. The Dandies who’ll live and get out know where the box is, too, and they’ll get their IDs and own money eventually, but we can’t wait around for them. As soon as I get the ID and money, we’ll go to the house I own under some other name in Upstate New York. The remaining Dandies will find their way there. Once we get there, I can access my foreign bank accounts and get you a new identity, then we’ll never have to worry for a long time. We’ll be safe.”

Gabe quietly went along with him, knowing that he didn’t have much of a choice in going on the run with William, especially now that he was this far. Knowing a few police officers were antisemites had the opposite effect of convincing him to leave William’s protection, unsurprisingly.

As they walked, William couldn’t help but complain in a hushed voice, “I can’t believe they found us _now,_ after all these years. I didn’t think anyone knew where we lived.”

Gabe’s first thought was Pete. However, it was the pink thumbtacks who had known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I wrote this chapter long before current events with the police started happening. I hope nobody actually thinks I'm trying to distract from blm by saying cops are antisemitic, because I really don't know much on that, but either way this is all for plot and I'm very supportive of blm.
> 
> So, William and Gabe are on the run now! Damn, William really just can't stop putting Gabe in danger. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

“We’re looking for cars from the 90s and before,” William explained, just after helping Gabe climb over a rusty chain link fence that separated the forest and a dead end street. “Anything newer I couldn’t hotwire. But if we can’t find any, then I’ll just break into a house to steal the keys.”

However, it had been quite a few years since William had hotwired a car, so old cars in an average middle-class neighborhood were few and far between. It was risky to just walk out in the open to look, so they gave up on that quickly. William told Gabe to wait outside at the side of a house with darkened windows while he broke in to look for car keys, as per the backup plan. There was an easily-found spare house key under the doormat that allowed him to unlock the door and steal through discreetly.

And so, Gabe waited for a few minutes. He could have taken off as soon as William had disappeared into the house, but he didn’t. He stayed leaning against the wall, listening to the crickets’ mournful chirping as it bled from the bushes. The police sirens in the distance were faint and far, but still sent chills down Gabe’s spine every time their obnoxious blares echoed through the air.

After only a few minutes, William slipped back out of the door with the keys dangling in his hand. “That was too easy. The keys were in the kitchen, whoever’s home was too busy fucking to hear me.” He pushed the button to unlock the car. A sudden beep and the flaring of headlights startled each of them. “Quick, get in!”

They ran to the car and threw open the doors. William pulled out of the driveway just as the lights to the house started to turn on, one window at a time, as a result of the owners noticing their car was being stolen. William drove far above the appropriate speed limit until they got onto the highway and headed in the opposite direction of the backdrop of the glowing Chicago skyline behind them. 

After a drive of about forty minutes, they took an exit that led into a dingy town they drove past in seeking the stretches of fields ahead. They drove through farmland and woods for miles in the eerie darkness. The moon didn’t bother to make an appearance in the sky that night.

At a patch of forest, William pulled over and parked the car on the side of the road. “It’s in an abandoned barn just past here.”

They trudged through the forest, muddy from recent rain, in the darkness. Gabe held onto William’s hand tight and gripped it tighter whenever he became startled hearing an animal’s cry in the distance or the sudden crack of a fallen branch under their feet. It felt like forever he was stumbling with him until they came across a clearing. There stood a half-collapsed barn splintered with planks of wood sticking out and bending over each other, graying and chipped strips of white paint curling off.

“Be careful, there could be nails and sharp wood on the ground, and you’re not wearing shoes,” William advised Gabe. That was the first time that night Gabe realized they weren’t wearing shoes. In the panic and adrenaline, he had barely noticed the pebbles and pine needles digging through his socks. They were caked in mud and worn with holes, small beads of blood staining them. “Just stay here while I get it.”

Gabe stood on the edges of the abandoned barn while William stepped through the mess. He lifted up planks and threw them aside, searching until he found two metal lock boxes. William opened one and rummaged through it, taking out a plastic bag that contained a passport, various sorts of methods of identification, a cheap prepaid cell phone, and a thick stack of money. He closed the box and hid it again under the planks.

“Found it!” William called out to Gabe, making his way back over. He handed the bag to Gabe. “Hold this. I gotta take out the shit in my feet.” While William held up his foot and plucked the nails and splinters out, he said, “In there, I’ve got myself a passport, driver’s license, a social security number, a burner phone, and about two thousand in cash. Legally, I’m now named Jonathon Sutton.”

“Okay, John.”

“Ugh, don’t call me that when we’re alone. I hate it already.”

“It’s not _that_ bad. Then why’d you choose it?”

“I didn’t, the guy I hired did. He has awful taste in names. Well, _had._ ” William picked the last nail out, threw it back toward the barn, and took the bag back from Gabe. “At least I didn’t get Brendon’s identity. It’s simply awful. I still can’t pronounce it.”

As they began to walk back to the car, Gabe mentioned, “That reminds me, we should talk about baby names at some point.”

“I thought we couldn’t name the baby until after she’s born because of Jewish superstition.”

“Right, but we can still talk about names with each other. We just shouldn’t call her by it or tell anyone else until she’s born.”

“Okay. We can discuss them now, it might be good to take your mind off things. What were you thinking?”

They carefully stepped over a fallen tree. The thin branches scraped against Gabe’s arm. “I want her to have a Jewish name. I had a few ideas written down, but they were on the phone you threw out of the window. I remember I liked the names Leora, Rani, Eliora, Rebecca and… what was the last one?...Miriam.”

“Those are really pretty.” William’s smile could barely be seen in the darkness, but it was obvious by his tone he was excited hearing the names. “I love them.”

“Are there any that you like the best?”

William considered the names. “I’ll have to think on it. I love all of them. It’s your decision, really, but I’ll let you know if I prefer one over the other.”

“Great. We still have a couple of months, so we’ve got time.” But considering a couple of months was also the amount of time Gabe had left as a human, it didn’t feel long at all.

They stopped once at a convenience store in Indiana to use the bathroom and buy snacks since Gabe had only eaten a piece of challah and some kugel that night and he had started craving chocolate. He couldn’t specify which one, so he left William to pick a chocolate bar out while he used the bathroom.

Gabe’s hair was messy from being ran through with so many tree branches. He’d need a haircut soon, since the strands were getting long enough to curl in coils he could wind around his fingers aimlessly while he stared back at his reflection in the mirror, face pale and washed-out from fear and the bright white bathroom lighting. Every time he thought he had washed off all the mud stains on his clothes, it was as if another would appear just to torment and remind him of everything going on.

Meanwhile, William stood in the middle of the candy aisle, arms crossed and staring down the shelves of chocolate bars. It had been years since he’d eaten chocolate. He couldn’t remember which he used to buy when he used to eat it, or what filling each brand had, or which Gabe would probably like the best. He found himself quickly grabbing one of each instead of deciding, stuffing as many as he could hold into his arms; they were cheap, anyways.

He dumped the assortment of chocolate on the counter for the cashier to start scanning. It was late and an unspoken rule between William and the tired minimum-wage worker not to make conversation as each barcode beeped under the scanner. William also plucked an orange from the sad little fruit basket by the register. Maybe Gabe would enjoy that, too.

Gabe came out of the bathroom, took one look at what William had put on the counter, and said, “Is that all you got? Just chocolate and an orange? I told you to get a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant… and did you even try to look for flip-flops? My feet are sore, and the pregnancy does _not_ help.”

“I panicked, there were too many! I didn’t know which one you’d like--”

“You’re wasting our money on _chocolate._ ”

“It’s my money, and if I want to spend it on chocolate, I will. I’ll look for the rest of the stuff now--”

Gabe sighed, holding up his hand as he said, “No, I’ll find it.”

Gabe walked away to another aisle. As the cashier waited for him so she could finish checking them out, her gaze landed on William.

“You’re Beckett,” she said, very unexpressively. 

His eyes narrowed on her. “And what of it?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged, scanning another chocolate bar. “Just a fan. Could I like, keep the receipt or something?”

They reached Cleveland, Ohio an hour before sunrise. Gabe waited in the car in the parking lot of some motel in the suburbs for a few minutes while William rented a room. The motel in question was cheap and run-down on the exterior, so they had hoped they wouldn’t ask too many questions when William just waltzed in there. Eventually, he came out of the motel office, victoriously holding up the room keys which shone under the flickering parking lot lights.

“This is it,” William said, after Gabe had trudged behind him to the room. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. It wasn’t the most luxurious room for sure, but a room nevertheless. The walls were covered in wood paneling, the bedsheets pale blue and covered in a floral pattern, and a mysterious coffee-colored stain adorned the corner of the ceiling.

“It’s… something.”

“It’s only for one night, I suppose,” William said, hurrying Gabe in quickly so he could lock the door. As he grabbed the curtains and yanked them shut, he said, “We’ll leave as soon as the sun’s down and eat once we’re in Pennsylvania. That sound good?”

“Mm, sure.” Although Gabe had slept in the car most of the way, he was still exhausted by the whole ordeal. He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes.

“Let’s at least have a shower before we go to sleep.”

“Is the bathroom gross?”

William opened the bathroom door and turned on the light. Other than a crack in the cloudy mirror, the dark green grime growing on the wall behind the toilet, and a dead wasp in the sink, it seemed absolutely fine. “It’s… survivable.”

The baby started kicking while William was massaging the 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash into Gabe’s hair.

“She’s kicking,” Gabe mentioned. William, of course, took his hands out of Gabe’s hair and rushed to put them on his stomach. And after such a shitty day, the way William’s face lit up when he actually felt her kicks for once made everything else that had happened earlier not matter anymore.

“I can feel it!” William grinned, eyes darting between Gabe and his stomach. “I can feel it, holy shit!” He giggled. “That’s our daughter! I can’t believe it!”

Somehow, everything seemed forgivable as they enjoyed the moment until the kicks subsided. Gabe kissed him; he just had to.

William laid Gabe down in the bed, both of them still wet and naked from having just gotten out of the shower, and straddled him. William’s hands roamed downward while they kissed, grabbing his ass and causing Gabe to grind up into him suddenly at feeling it, both of them breaking the kiss to moan.

“ _Fuck,_ bite me!”

“Keep begging me,” William said, kissing Gabe’s neck and grinding down on him once more. “Tell me how much you fucking need me, you slut.”

“So bad, I need you so f--” As Gabe begged, William moved down and took Gabe’s hardening cock into his mouth without warning. “Mierda, Bilvy, I need you so fucking bad! I need you to bite me! If you keep--” William lifted his mouth off Gabe’s cock, a drop of precum on his lips, and grinned with his fangs visible.

“Mm, you look so good for me like this,” William said, his fangs brushed against the skin of Gabe’s inner thigh as he pushed his leg up. He still didn’t bite down, instead smirking as he observed the desperation on Gabe’s face. “You’re all _mine._ You want me to bite you?”

“Yes, _yes!_ ”

“Say please, whore.”

“ _Please!_ ”

“Good.” William bit into his leg, emitting a muffled moan as the taste hit his tongue. Gabe cried out at feeling the pleasant sting and entangled his fingers in William’s hair, tugging his head closer. When William had drunk enough, he lifted his blood-stained lips back up and grinned at Gabe before he took his cock into his mouth again. Gabe’s hands were still in his hair and he still pushed William down, moving his hips up and fucking into his mouth as William continuously made sinful sucking sounds with his mouth.

“Fuck, _William,_ I’m gonna--” Gabe was interrupted by his orgasm rippling across his body, causing him to moan loudly William’s name again numerous times while William swallowed his cum.

Once Gabe had finished, he sat up and took his fingers out of William’s hair, expecting to return the favor, but William grabbed his wrists and pushed him back down. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll jerk myself off in the bathroom. You gotta rest, okay?”

“But I--”

“It’ll be fine.” William smiled, placing a quick peck onto Gabe’s lips. “You can pay me back some other time. Just sleep, okay? It’s been a stressful day and we’ve got to leave as soon as the sun sets.”

Gabe nodded, already feeling the burden of sleep weighing down his eyelids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was nothing too interesting since they're just travelling, but the next chapter is more interesting! Also don't mind me projecting my Jewishness again when I decided Gabe's gonna give his baby a Jewish name... haha.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little Spanish, but it's conveniently right at the end so you get to read the translation in the end notes right after :) Enjoy the chapter!

William lifted the edge of the curtain, making sure it was dark outside, and then pushed it aside to inspect the view of the parking lot. After a few seconds, he confirmed, “Nothing suspicious.” He turned to Gabe. “Let’s go.”

There was barely anything to grab, since all they had was the plastic bag of what they bought at the convenience store and William already kept his fake identification in his pocket, so they left the room and anxiously waited in the motel office for the few minutes it took to check out before they could hurry to the car. Although law enforcement didn’t seem to know exactly the direction they were heading yet, they still had eight hours to drive, along with an additional stop to buy food and clothes, and it was better to get on the road before anyone recognized their faces or the stolen car.

As they got on the interstate, William turned on the radio and pressed the seek button until they landed on a station playing an evening talk show. The hosts were just finishing up laughing about their last topic and quickly moved onto the next one. As soon as William’s name was mentioned through the speakers he reached out to change the station, but Gabe blocked him. “I want to hear it.”

“Fine.” William sighed, returning his hand to the steering wheel.

“So, we’ve all heard about the fact William Beckett,” the radio show host said, “is dating this guy named Gabe that he got pregnant and now they’re on the run and nobody knows where they are, right?”

William reached for the radio again, but Gabe protested, “Don’t you dare change it.” William reluctantly obeyed and kept his hand rested on the steering wheel with a frown.

“It really is a tragedy and we’re just as concerned for Gabe’s wellbeing as everyone else and hope he returns to his family safely, but I just found out this morning that--you’ll never guess this--people found Gabe’s old Tumblr posts and they are not only concerning but _seriously_ fucked up. Like, he was one of the most popular Tumblr vampire fucker accounts for a reason, apparently. When you look at them, it’s really not at all shocking he ended up in this kind of situation. So, we’re just gonna read a few--”

“You _still_ want to listen?” William asked.

“Yeah, I want to know what kind of stuff is still out there.” Gabe prayed it wasn’t anything too awful, although he was still sure he’d manage to surprise himself.

“Here’s a good one to start out with: on February 2nd this year, Gabe posted under the username of ‘njbeckettfan’, ‘ _what I wouldn’t give for William Beckett to fuck me raw right now._ '”

William glanced at Gabe. Gabe’s face went hot. “I was drunk.”

Unconvinced, William slowly nodded. “Sure.”

“Now here’s another good one: in January, Gabe said this under a GIF of security footage of Beckett killing someone, ‘ _I would let him fuck my corpse. I’m not joking this time, like seriously, I want him to stick his dick up my dead ass._ ’”

“I was probably drunk then, too.”

“And then here’s one that honestly, it really takes the cake. In October, he posted, ‘ _I want William Beckett to tie me up and force me to be his sex slave. That’s my only goal in life, to be constantly covered in cum and blood while he fucks me until my ass is fucking obliterated._ ’”

“Were you drunk when you posted that, too?” William teased with a smirk.

“You can change the station.” Gabe had his elbow leaned against the car window, covering his lower face with his hand in an attempt to cover his heavily-flustered cheeks. He swore he had deleted that post minutes after he posted it and wondered how the hell it could still exist. “Ugh, what if my _family_ hears about the shit I’ve posted?”

“If they do, it’s not like you’ll ever see them again,” William said, jabbing the seek button over and over. “I’m honestly curious about the other stuff you’ve posted about me…”

“Please don’t look it up.”

“But _babe,_ I’m curious.”

Gabe pouted. “ _Bilvy._ Really. You’re going to judge me for the kind of stuff I posted.”

“Well, what they said on the radio had to be the worst of it, right?”

Gabe considered it. “I think so. Okay, _fine,_ you can look it up later, but please don’t be too weird about it.”

“The police _finally_ released something.” Joe handed his phone across the table to Pete. “Beckett and Gabe were at a convenience store in Indiana last night. They must be headed eastward.”

Pete studied the frames of the security footage that showed William and Gabe checking out at a convenience store while Joe crunched on his midnight snack, a bowl of sugary cereal. “I guess they’re going to the East Coast.”

“Or Michigan.”

“No, Beckett hates Michigan. Anyways, I’ve got to go after them.”

“ _Go after them?_ ” Joe demanded. His spoon clattered into his bowl of cereal. “What the hell do you mean? You’re in the middle of taking finals and you have no fucking idea where they’re going for sure. You can’t just drop everything to chase after them!”

“I have to.” Pete handed Joe’s phone back and stood up. “As long as Gabe is with him, he’s in danger. Someone has to go after them.”

“Beckett’s gonna beat your ass if you do somehow catch up to them, you know.”

“Oh, I’m sure he will,” Pete agreed, walking out of the kitchen anyway.

“We only have one car, though! You can’t just take it across the country without warning!”

“You’ll just have to survive taking the bus for a week,” Pete called out from the hallway, “or you could just come with me.”

Joe debated whether he was going to really put up with Pete’s on-a-whim decision. On one hand, this was extremely dangerous. On the other hand, _someone_ had to stop Pete from getting himself killed. With a groan, Joe pushed his chair out from the table and abandoned his cereal.

Within the span of ten minutes, Joe found himself in the car with Pete. Andy would probably be mad about their unforeseen road trip when he got back from the gym, but that was the least of their worries for now.

Gabe looked up from the menu after finally deciding what to eat, which was very difficult as a kosher vegetarian in a very non-kosher diner in the middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, and saw William on his phone. The corner of his mouth was turned upward in a slight smirk. “You’re looking at it, aren’t you?” Gabe asked.

“Perhaps,” William said, glancing up from his phone. “Even though you deleted your blog, there’s still an archived version of it on one of those website archives.”

"Ugh, _seriously?_ ”

“Yeah. Last version of it is from January tenth. It’s…” William bit his lip as he read another post, “...quite interesting.”

“Hand that to me.”

William handed the phone to Gabe. Gabe didn’t really even have a chance to read the post. All he saw was the word “choke” before his cheeks started to heat up and he handed the phone back to William. “You’re telling me you _read_ that?”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll say I didn’t.” William scrolled some more and his eyebrows raised as he read another post.

“ _Dios,_ what are you reading now?”

William handed the phone to Gabe again with a grimace. “Funny how you reblogged… that last year.”

The post in question was something one of Gabe’s mutuals had posted, **i literally want william beckett to impregnate me and to squeeze at least ten of his leech babies out of my pussy** , which Gabe didn’t remember reblogging but apparently did.

“Oh.” Gabe had a painful, awkward smile through the embarrassment. “Uh… that was a long time before we met. I didn’t even know at that point I could get pregnant. But honestly, I would have never reblogged or liked something as fucking weird as that if I knew I’d be sitting here in a random diner, in love with you and pregnant with our baby. I swear.”

“Good to know.” William took back his phone and turned it off. “I believe you. I guess that’s enough of looking at your blog for one night.”

After Gabe finished his salad, they stopped at a department store for new clothes since all they had in terms of their wardrobe was the clothing they had worn before they fled, which were starting to get dirty considering they’d traipsed through the woods and slept in them. They planned on buying whatever they saw first, trying it on, and then continuing to drive before anyone could recognize them. If they were quick enough, there was a possibility they could arrive in New York that night before sunrise.

While Gabe browsed the department store’s tiny men’s maternity clothing section and looked through a rack of shirts for his size, there was a tap on his shoulder. He quickly turned around, expecting it to be William coming back from picking out jeans, but instead it was an all-too-familiar face he hadn’t seen in years.

His mother.

Instead of being delighted, as most people would be when meeting their mom, Gabe’s eyes widened and he demanded in English, “What the _hell_ are you doing here?” Something about speaking in Spanish to her didn’t feel right, especially since Gabe hardly considered her family anymore.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, looking between Gabe’s face and his pregnant stomach. “I know you’re still mad, but you could have at least told me I’m going to be a bubbe already!”

“I didn’t think you’d care that much.”

“ _Gabriel,_ of course I would care!”

“Doesn’t seem much like it,” Gabe said coldly. “I didn’t think you would care about your family after you divorced and took _everything_ from us.”

“It’s been years, mijo--”

“Gabe, who’s this?” William appeared from behind a shelf, holding a few shirt hangers and a folded pair of jeans. He and Gabe’s mother, Jeanette, made eye contact.

“Uh, William, this is my mother,” Gabe said, smiling politely and gesturing to her. “And this is my boyfriend, William.”

“It’s lovely to meet you.” William tucked all the clothes he held under his arm and extended his free hand out to her to shake.

“It’s lovely to meet you, too.” As soon as she had let go, she turned to Gabe and asked, “Is he Jewish?”

Gabe didn’t appear amused at the question. “ _Really?_ ”

Jeanette took that as a no and frowned. “The father of your child is a _goy?_ ” She took another look at William, studying his face for a moment before she said, “I think I’ve seen you somewhere.”

Gabe and William looked at each other and William shook his head. “I don’t know how. I just have one of those faces.”

“No, you look very… familiar, I just can’t figure out how…” It was almost miraculous the news of Gabe’s status as missing hadn’t been reported to her yet.

“Well, we’ve really got to get going,” Gabe interrupted before she could possibly make the connection. “We’re in a hurry.”

“Not when this is the first time I’m seeing you in years! There’s so much we have to catch up on.”

Before Gabe could utter a quick goodbye and drag William to the check-out, William took out a pen and an old receipt from his pocket. “How about you give us your phone number? Then Gabe can call you later.”

“Great!” As Jeanette wrote down her number on the receipt, Gabe glared at William. It hardly seemed like a good idea to reconnect with her at a time like this; even though there was the possibility Gabe would never have this chance again, he was absolutely sure she would tell the police about seeing them in a random department store in Pennsylvania as soon as she inevitably found out the same son was missing and “kidnapped” by William. She finished writing down her number and handed the receipt and pen back to William. “You make sure Gabe calls me. I know how stubborn he can be.”

“Of course,” William agreed, although he could feel Gabe’s displeasure radiating off of the look he was giving him.

Jeanette hugged and said goodbye to both of them before she departed in the direction of the grocery section. While William and Gabe waited impatiently at the check-out for the cashier to finish scanning what they were buying, out of the blue Gabe said, “I hope you don’t actually expect me to call her. I did tell you about the divorce, right?”

“If she doesn’t find out about the current situation, our daughter might actually have a grandma,” William suggested. “Just saying.”

“ _Right._ ” Gabe chuckled with a lighthearted roll of his eyes. William only shrugged and as he began to count money to pay, Gabe added, “I’ll call her the day you call your own parents.”

Right as Jeanette had unlocked her car, her cell phone immediately started ringing. She quickly grabbed her phone out of her pocket in hopes Gabe would be calling already, but instead it was someone she hadn’t talked to in years: Diego.

She answered the call. “Diego, ¿qué pasa? Han pasado años.”

“Gabe está desaparecido.”

Jeanette nearly dropped her cell phone, but caught it just as it was slipping out of her grasp. “¿Qué estás diciendo?” The disbelief was evident in her tone, which almost sounded humorous. “Me crucé con él recién.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:
> 
> She answered the call. “Diego, what's going on? It's been years.”
> 
> “Gabe is missing.”
> 
> Jeanette nearly dropped her cell phone, but caught it just as it was slipping out of her grasp. “What are you saying?” The disbelief was evident in her tone, which almost sounded humorous. “I just met him.”
> 
> \-------------
> 
> So I realize that there's rules for what can be said on the radio, but I think after sunset the rules are looser so :/ idk, I wasn't gonna let the rules stop me from writing that fun scene about Gabe's old posts. And maybe I decided to make Gabe's mom super fucking Jewish not just cuz it's fun (which really it kinda is) but because I gotta project my own Jewish mom angst onto something... lol idk :) Anyways, I hope you guys liked the chapter!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

They arrived at the house in Upstate New York just a few minutes before 5 A.M., the hour the sun was due to rise. It was deep within the forest, surrounded by miles of lush trees, stretching mountains, and situated by a wide creek. The three-story house was made of stone that glowed warmly in the car headlights with many darkened, tall windows and a large porch that overlooked the creek.

“Here it is,” William said, stopping the car. They both lingered in the car for a second, looking at the house in the night before moving to take off their seatbelts. “It’s really lovely here in autumn.”

“I bet it is.” Gabe would appreciate the view another time. Right now, he was just exhausted from the trip and wanted to crash on wherever the bed was.

They climbed up the stone steps to the porch. William lifted up the doormat to grab the spare key and unlocked the door. They trudged into the front hallway of the house, dim until William found the lightswitch. Off to the immediate sides of the hall were a dining room and living room that were hard to see since their lights were off, with an L-shaped staircase at the side and more doors further down the hallway. The hallway, instead of a ceiling, opened up to the second floor and a skylight above, although the skylight had previously been taped over to prevent daylight exposure.

Immediately, William took off his shoes and went off to the right into the dining room, turning on the lights and checking to see the curtains were closed. Once he did that, he walked to a door in the room and opened it, turning on the lights and revealing it as the kitchen, where he made sure the curtains were closed as well. As he turned off the lights and walked back into the hallway, Gabe, who was just tiredly standing there watching, stopped him before he could go into the living room, and asked, “What’re you doing?”

“Making sure the curtains are closed,” William said. “I’m going to have to stay up late to get things sorted out. I’ve got to call the housekeeper, find somewhere to sell the car and somewhere else to buy a new one, start getting you a new identity, make sure everything in the house is in order, transfer money between bank accounts...”

Gabe could barely keep his eyes open as he nodded. He wanted to ask where the bedroom was, but instead offered, “Anything I can do to help?”

William thought for a second. “Could you make a grocery list of stuff you’ll need? I’ll go into town tomorrow to buy food.”

So Gabe found himself in the kitchen sitting on a barstool at the counter, writing down on a notepad what he’d need for food since the only things he could find after searching the cabinets were dusty dishes and a box of wine. While he thought out his list, he heard William from various parts of the house, upstairs and downstairs, throwing open doors and running around. The occasional sound of something falling over with a sudden _clang!_ , especially from the basement, was what kept Gabe just barely awake.

Eventually, William came back into the kitchen. “You done with the list?”

Gabe wearily handed the notepad to William. He rubbed his weary eyes with the side of his hand while William looked it over. “Looks good.” William set the notepad back down and watched as Gabe yawned. “You look tired.”

Mid-yawn, Gabe said, “ _No shit._ Where’s the bedroom?”

“Follow me.” Gabe held tight to William’s hand as he was led out of the kitchen, up the staircase, and to the master bedroom.

The room was quite spacious, the bed made with a white bedspread and gray pillows to complement the painted white wood-panelling accent wall. On the other end of the room was a door into the attached bathroom and a wall of bookshelves. The shut curtains hid a door and windows that looked out onto a balcony.

William pushed back the neatly-made bed sheets for Gabe and sat down with him on the bed. “I’ll show you the rest of the house tomorrow,” he promised. “I think you’ll feel really at home here. The house has a library, a hot-tub… and there’s plenty of rooms we can use for a baby room. It’s so secluded out here, nobody could _ever_ find us. The nearest neighbors are almost a mile away.”

Gabe nodded, barely listening as he leaned into William’s shoulder. “Okay.” All he knew was that he felt tired and maybe, just maybe, a little safe, as if the main danger was finally over with.

“Oh, and I should give you this before I forget.” William dug in his pocket and took out the receipt that Gabe’s mother had written her phone number on. He held it out for Gabe, which he tentatively took and stared at. “You should call her soon.”

Gabe scoffed and tried to hand the receipt back to William, but he didn’t take it. “I’m not actually going to _call_ her.”

“I think you should,” William suggested lightly. “She is your mother, after all, and she’ll be our daughter’s grandmother.”

“What’s with the sudden change in attitude? If you cared--” Gabe lifted his head off William’s shoulder. “--maybe you shouldn’t be actively putting my family in danger all the fucking time. I still haven’t forgotten about when you were thinking about killing Adrian!”

“You know I wasn’t actually serious about that!”

“Do you really think me, calling my mother, who I fucking _hate_ by the way, is really what we need at a time like this? I had to cut off my dad and my brothers and Ilana because you just can’t help putting me in danger! We narrowly escaped the police raiding your house and just drove across the country, and you care about me _calling my mom._ ”

“Of course you’re gonna be put in danger, you’re fucking me, _William Beckett,_ of all people! You should be glad I’m giving you this opportunity to call her! Don’t you want our daughter to have a grandmother when her life is barely going to be fucking normal?!”

“ _Shit,_ Bilvy!” Gabe snapped, “If you want the baby to have grandparents so fucking badly, why don’t you call your own parents?”

William froze and began to cry. Gabe’s hard glare softened and he reached out to place a hand on William’s shoulder as he choked out, “I… I’ve _tried,_ but they hate me. I’m a vampire that’s brought them nothing but fucking police investigations and a bunch of nosey fangirls stalking them. They probably had no idea that we were about to have a kid until it was all over the news… if I call them, I don’t want to hear what they’ll say about our daughter. At least you’re still human, at least your mom doesn’t know yet!”

Gabe hugged him while he sobbed. “I’m sorry,” Gabe whispered, “I didn’t… I really shouldn’t have said that.”

William mumbled into his shoulder, “It… It’s fine.” He sniffled. “I… just miss them _so_ much, my mom and dad and Courtney.”

“I’m sure they miss you too.”

“They miss… they miss the _old_ me,” he sobbed, “William Beckett, a regular emo teenager at Barrington High School, who got drunk on Friday nights instead of killing people. I still remember the look on their faces when I tried to talk to them… but it was just like _he_ said it would be like, my creator, he said they’d _despise_ me. And they did, as soon as they opened the door they threatened to call the police, they yelled I was a disgrace to the family as if it was my choice! I don’t want them to say the same about our daughter just because she’ll be a vampire.”

Gabe listened understandingly. “It’s been a few years. Maybe they’d… be open to talking.”

“I can only hope.”

Gabe held him for a few more minutes, silent, until he caved and said, “I’ll try calling my mom.”

A few nights later, Gabe sat on a window seat in the house’s library, holding a burner phone and the receipt with his mother’s number in his hand. The last few days had been peaceful in a sense; William had traded in the stolen car for a new one, Gabe’s new identity was being worked on, the baby was active and kicking as usual, and nothing unusual or suspicious had yet come their way.

As Gabe summoned the courage to call, he gazed outside through the window at the creek of tumbling water before looking across the room to where William was sitting in a chair next to the tall and overflowing bookshelf lining the wall as he typed something on his laptop. William noticed Gabe was admiring him and he glanced up. “Are you still going to call her?” He’d insisted on being in the room during the call, just in case.

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, just nervous.”

William set down his laptop on the coffee table and walked over to Gabe, taking the burner phone and receipt to put in the number himself. As it started to ring, he handed it back to Gabe. “There you go.”

Gabe was about to protest William’s brazenness before he lifted the phone to his ear, but then he heard the ringing stop quickly and his mother say, “Hello, who is this?”

“Hi, uh… it’s Gabe.”

“Gabe!” She happily gasped. “I’m so glad you called. How are you? How’s the baby?”

“I’m doing good. The baby’s doing good too, she’s been kicking a lot lately.”

“And how is your boyfriend, what’s his name… William?”

“He’s doing good, too.”

“Does he ever plan on converting to Judaism?”

Gabe sighed, looking over at William, who was back on his laptop but still listening. “I don’t think so?”

“Well, then, there’s no way he could be your _beshert._ ” By that, she meant soulmate. “Haven’t you met any nice boys at Hillel?”

Gabe didn’t feel like explaining he had run away from college and by extension could no longer attend the school’s Hillel events without travelling across multiple states or being taken into police custody. “I don’t really give a shit about whether William is Jewish or not, Mame. Either way we’ll still be raising our daughter Jewish.”

“Well, do you give a shit that he’s a vampire?”

Gabe’s eyes widened. “What? How do you know?”

“Your father called me a few days ago to tell me you got kidnapped by your vampire boyfriend. He even sent me some of the awful things you used to post online about him.”

Gabe was absolutely silent. He had no idea how to react; just as they were reconnecting, he was about to lose her, too.

“But I know that’s really not the case,” Jeanette continued. “William, even though he isn’t Jewish, he seemed nice when I met him. This all must be some big misunderstanding you got caught in, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” Gabe quickly agreed.

“So for now, I haven’t told anyone I saw you. And I won’t tell your father on one condition; I want to meet up soon, for a real conversation.”

“Okay.” He knew he’d have to get William’s permission, but he was sure he would be okay with it since he had been the one trying to get him to call his mother in the first place. “I can do that. You swear you won’t tell _anyone?_ ”

“Of course, mijo. No one.”

“I _swear_ he said something about having a safehouse up here.”

“I’m sure Beckett said plenty of things while you were drugged and bleeding out on the floor.” By now, Pete and Joe had reached New York. However, _where_ exactly in the entire state William and Gabe were located was a question that still remained to be answered, if they even were in the correct state. Hundreds of miles away from them, Pete and Joe were in a blindingly-bright Denny’s in Ithaca during the middle of the night trying to figure out that question. A map of the state they’d picked up at a reststop was spread out on the table between them while Pete studied all the town names, circling any that felt familiar.

“He _had_ to have said something about it,” Pete said, concentrating on the map. “Like, they were seen in Indiana, so they definitely are going in this direction.”

“They could have gone in any direction from Indiana.”

“But Beckett did say something about New York.”

“Would he really have trusted you with that kind of info in the few days you were with him?”

“Maybe. He was paranoid about this kind of stuff.” The sharpie in Pete’s hand hovered the area of the Adirondacks before he instead drew a large circle around the Catskills. “I know he said there were mountains.”

“That _really_ narrows it down. The entire fucking state has mountains.”

“No, I feel like it’s got to be around there somewhere.”

“Pete, just face it.” Joe sat up straighter and leaned over the map, resting his elbows on the table. “He turned you, like, over a year ago. You don’t know as much as you think you do. If Beckett did mention something, there’s no way you would remember it. Gabe’s gone, Beckett got away with him. It’s pointless to keep searching. Even if you can’t kill him yourself, at least you won’t have to see the fucker’s face anymore.”

As Pete reflected on what Joe said and started to feel just as hopeless, the waitress arrived with Joe’s order of pancakes. “Here’s your order.” As she set the pancakes in front of him, she glanced at the map. “Are you guys going on a hiking trip out there?”

“Yeah,” Pete said, since Joe was too busy digging into his pancakes.

“Well, just be careful out there,” she said, pointing to a town on the map. “You might want to avoid around Middletown. I’ve got family around there and there’s been some murders there recently.”

 _Of course!_ Pete felt so stupid that he hadn’t thought of checking the news. “Do you think it could be vampires?” he asked, perhaps a little too eagerly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” the waitress said. “All of the victims died of blood loss. It’s actually kinda odd, it happens every few years for a month. I’ve got to get back to working, but be careful out there. Enjoy the food.”

“Thanks,” Pete said. As she left, he excitedly looked at Joe and grinned. “I think we actually found Beckett!”

Joe didn’t seem as convinced, but he shrugged as he finished chewing. “I guess it’s a start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, not as much happens in this chapter, but it looks like Pete and Joe may be close to finding where William and Gabe are, I suppose you'll have to wait to see how that ends up next chapter ;) I hope you guys enjoyed this one!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is definitely... uhh... let's just say there's a lot more blood and some torture and it's pretty descriptive. Just thought I'd warm you beforehand as shit goes down.

Just as William was lifting up a bag of groceries from the trunk of the car, he realized that something felt… off.

He abruptly dropped the paper bag back into the trunk, shaking the car, and spun around, his eyes darting all over the forest that surrounded the driveway of the house. In the darkness, he saw the far-off glint of a flashlight on a tree before it was switched off.

William raced in the direction of the light. In the distance he saw someone’s feet pick up and fumble into a run as he realized he’d been seen, but it was too late; William caught up to him in a matter of seconds and snatched him by the throat, throwing him against a tree.

“Well, what do we have here?” William asked, cocking his head as he studied Pete’s terrified face. Pete struggled in his grasp, but William pulled him back and threw him against the tree again. Green maple leaves fell around them as the tree bristled with the impact. “I thought I had told you to leave us alone, but I suppose if you followed us all the way here, I must make that message clearer.”

“Fuck off!” Pete yelled. He tried to kick William in the crotch, but the move was anticipated. Before his knee could collide with his crotch, William shoved Pete to the side, downward against the jagged surface of a rock. He slammed his foot on Pete’s chest, pressing down so suffocatingly hard that the _snap!_ of a rib could be heard. Agony permeated Pete’s screams as he yelled, “Fuck you, Beckett! Fuck _you!_ ” while flailing his limbs and pushing his hips up to try to break free of the pressure compressing on his chest.

William leaned down and yanked Pete up by his hair, forcing his head up roughly so William could whisper in his ear, “I told you bad things would happen if you didn’t leave us the hell alone,” before his hand curled into a tight fist and he punched him, knuckles slamming against fleshy skin and hard, cracking bone. The back of Pete’s head hit the sharp rock below with a dull thud and almost immediately a stream of red began to trickle down the surface of the rock, tainting a puddle of water. “But I suppose since your roommates aren’t here, you’ll have to pay yourself,” William finally removed his foot from his chest and pulled Pete up, still gripping him as he hissed in his ear, “You’re going to be quiet and cooperate when I bring you inside, or I’ll make sure to hire someone to take out your stupid hunter roommates back home. Understood?”

Although Joe was safely away in the hotel room, Pete still knew Andy would be at risk alone in Chicago and it would hardly take hesitation for William to send an assassin for one mere human who had no involvement in this particular plan. As Pete slowly nodded, a vivid bead of blood dripped from his reddened nostrils. William inferred obedience from the dullness in his eyes and smiled. The threat was almost too easy.

“Wonderful.” He pressed Pete against the tree roughly again and started to pat him down, removing a few stakes, a gun, and a knife from the insides of his jacket and boots. He threw all of the weapons and clothing to the side, each item clinking gently as it rolled down the hill, across pebbles and tree roots. After William finished searching him, he dragged Pete away with him toward the house. “I don’t want to hear a sound from you.”

Pete, in pain and overcome by the crushing feeling of defeat, went along with him even though William’s grip made him nauseous. They both knew it was far too late for Pete to ever be brainwashed into rejoining the Dandies, especially after everything he’d done, so Pete knew there were only two options: wait for Joe to attempt a rescue, or wait for William to get bored and kill him.

“What was that noise outside?” Gabe asked as he walked into the kitchen while William was putting away groceries. He’d probably just been awoken by it a few minutes ago, since his hair was a mess of curls and he wore a gray pair of sweatpants, faintly stained with blood he’d given up on trying to scrub out.

“Nothing really.” William avoided eye contact by quickly shoving a head of lettuce in the refrigerator. “Must have been some drunk hikers or something.”

“Hm.” Gabe dropped the subject of conversation to start making himself a bowl of cereal. As the cereal rattled into the bowl, he suggested, “Maybe it could have been other Dandies finally getting here or something.”

“If it was, they’d have come to the door by now.” William wished that was the case. As each day passed, his hopes that any Dandies had survived the police raid grew slimmer. “Anyways, I’ll be in the basement most of the day. Cleaning up and stuff.”

“Do you need any help?”

“No.” William hid his smirk by turning around to start unpacking another bag of groceries.

“Are you sure? I wanna spend some time with you.”

“I’ll only be down there about an hour, don’t worry. I’ll be doing mostly lifting, anyway, which you shouldn’t be doing pregnant.” Then he had an idea and his eyes lit up. “Actually... I might get a drink after I’m done. Should I come back covered in blood?”

Gabe, having no idea of exactly whose blood it would be, said suggestively, “I think you should.”

There was something absolutely traumatizing about being bound in chains in William Beckett’s pitch-black basement that made Pete’s formerly repressed memories bubble to the surface. He had started thrashing in the chains, rattling them against the cement floor, wailing for help and panicking as he thought about when he’d been turned, about when he hazily saw the glimmer of his blood dripping from William’s lips. It was an absolute nightmare to think here he was, ensnared again.

William had never escaped Pete’s thoughts, and so Pete had never escaped him.

Pete heard the scrape of the metal door against the ground as William opened it. He only kept screaming and kicking against the chains that weighed him down. He had to get out. He had to get out. _He had to get out._

“You’re lucky this basement is soundproof,” William said as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. “I can make you scream all I want and nobody but me will hear.” He switched the lightswitch on. The light flickered a few moments before becoming consistent, revealing William to be holding a thick coil of rope. “I’d have tied you up in this before, but I wanted to watch you struggle in it.”

Pete, of course, did try to fight against William, but considering he’d just had a pretty taxing panic attack, William won over quickly. Pete was tied by his wrists to the rope and hung from the ceiling. The rough material of the rope dug through his skin, scratching across his flesh the more he struggled in it. William took a step back when he’d finished tying and admired as blood slowly began to drip down from where the rope was cutting through Pete’s wrists, trickling down his face and bare chest. William stepped closer and licked the blood from below Pete’s collarbone while Pete flimsily tried to kick against him.

“It’s been quite awhile since I tasted you, hasn’t it?” William taunted, licking another stripe of blood off of him. “I quite missed it.”

Pete kept trying to kick him away and wriggle his body, screaming every vulgarity he could think of, “You son of a bitch! Fucking vile motherfucker! Get your damn tongue off me!” but William only kept licking at the blood that fell from his wrists. The bleeding had started to drench Pete’s hair, making it all sticky and flat against his forehead. Blood had started to accumulate on his eyelashes, dotting his vision with hellish blurs of red whenever he blinked.

“You look pretty like this,” William complimented, gazing up at Pete’s blood-streaked and agonized face. Pete tried to kick him again, but William hardly noticed anymore. “So pretty. _Gorgeous,_ in fact, but don’t tell Gabe I said that.” He giggled.

“How the hell do you _enjoy_ this, you sick bastard?!”

“How do you not?” William frowned and narrowed his eyebrows comically before smiling up at him again. “I should have thought of this when I turned you. It really would have heightened the sex, don’t you think?”

Pete did _not_ want to be reminded of _that_ part of turning. “Fuck. Off.”

“You don’t mind if I bite, do you?” William asked, although he certainly didn’t care whether he got Pete’s permission. 

Pete was unsurprisingly screaming at him not to. “Yes, I do fucking mind! Get the hell away from me!”

However, William was already fascinated by a particular patch of skin on his torso. He took hold of Pete’s hips to steady his hanging body, ignoring his feeble kicks to bite into him. Vampire blood wasn’t very filling, but every ounce was worth it as long as every ounce antagonized Pete. William sucked at the bite. More blood dripped onto him from off Pete’s body as the struggling only caused more to fall. When William drew back, his wicked grin was tainted with a glossy shade of ruby red.

“Maybe I’ll let you down in a few hours if you’re good,” William said, although his tone was nonchalant and somewhat noncommittal. Pete wouldn’t be shocked if he forgot about him altogether. “In the meantime, I’ve got business to attend to. And by business, I mean fucking Gabe while I’m covered in your blood.”

Pete barely had time to process that statement before William had danced out of the room. When he did fully realize what William had said, he nearly threw up in his mouth.

William thought Gabe would probably be in the library, and he was right. When he stopped in the doorway, the book Gabe was reading dropped out of his hands as he saw the blood smeared across William’s face. Gabe was breathless. “Fuck.”

William smirked and strutted to the chair Gabe was sat in, leaning over him and resting his elbows on the armrests. “I didn’t take too long, did I?”

“No,” Gabe said, entranced by the blood on his lips, the blood he thought was just anyone’s. “Quicker than I thought you’d be, actually.”

William slowly licked the blood off his lips and after a moment said, “Good.” He took Gabe’s hand and pulled him up to kiss him.

While he kissed him, William quickly started pushing up at the hem of Gabe’s shirt. Gabe stopped, mumbling into the kiss, “We’re not even in the bedroom yet.”

“Who says we need to be?” He pulled the shirt up and over Gabe’s head, dropping it on the chair behind them. He kissed him again for a few more seconds before he broke the kiss and lowered his lips to Gabe’s neck, biting in without warning. As his fangs broke the skin, the taste of his blood mixed with what was left of Pete’s on William’s tongue.

Gabe moaned, and although he would have preferred William to have asked first considering they should have been trying to avoid another fainting incident, it wasn’t like he was not going to enjoy it. While William drank from him, his hands fell from the sides of Gabe’s chest to the zipper of his jeans, which he made quick work of unzipping and pushing off as he drank. Blood trickled down Gabe’s chest.

Once his jeans and boxers were off, William unlatched from Gabe’s neck and pushed him back into the chair behind him. William sank to his knees and slid his blood-coated hands up Gabe’s thighs as he leaned in, spreading his legs wide to lick a bead of precum off of the tip of his cock. Gabe shuddered and leaned against the back of the chair. “ _Shit,_ William.”

William grinned up at him with his smile still dripping of blood and then wrapped his lips around his cock, taking it in nearly to the back of his throat. As he sucked his dick, his hands left smears of blood as they moved further back to squeeze Gabe’s ass. Gabe, meanwhile, grabbed onto William’s long hair to tug him closer as he grinded his hips up into his mouth.

“ _Dios,_ Bilvy, I’m gonna--” Gabe started, already at the brink of an orgasm, but then William suddenly took his mouth off his cock. He stood up and leaned close to Gabe’s ear, his hands moving up to pin Gabe’s wrists to the armrests.

“Not yet, you whore,” he hissed, licking Gabe’s earlobe with his bloody tongue. “You’ll come when I say you can.”

“Fuck, William, _please,_ let me come. I can’t last any longer.”

William tilted his head to the side, considering, and then relented, “Alright,” He freed one of Gabe’s wrists so he could move a hand down to wrap his fist around Gabe’s cock and start jerking him off, leaving streaks of blood in his crimson-slick fingers’ wake. Not just _any_ streaks of blood, but _Pete’s_ blood. Even if Pete wasn’t there, wasn’t present to see Gabe’s mouth fall open when he came, it already felt like revenge enough for William to lick the sticky mix of Gabe’s cum and Pete’s blood off of the tips of his fingers with a smirk.

Even so, William knew he still had much more to do to torment his prisoner.

William, clothes messily put back on and his hair covered in both Gabe’s and Pete’s dried blood, skipped down the stairs to the basement happily to see whether or not Pete would behave so he could be taken down from the rope.

The sight that greeted him was, in his opinion, _glorious._ Below Pete’s feet, the blood on the floor had grown to a sizable puddle. Pete had become weary, his only movement being to look up with his hollow eyes when he heard the door creak and William’s footsteps. The blood coated his bare body in many criss-crossing streaks and trickles of red, falling down his arms all the way to his feet, where it dripped from his toes into the puddle with a constant rainy pattering.

“So,” William said, looking him right in the eyes. Pete’s vision of him was bleary, the blood in his eyes diluted by salty tears. “Would you behave if I let you down?”

“I will,” Pete said, his voice timid and hoarse. His wrists were raw and aching. He’d been tied up for over an hour in the dark, forced to suffer the pain while blood ran down his body as he heard the continual drip, drip, drip, each one gradually eating away at his few shreds of sanity. Slightly more frantic, he continued, “I will, I’ll do anything. Just let me down.”

William took immense pleasure in the desperation and smiled. He didn’t think it would take this short to already start to break Pete. “Lovely.” He grabbed the step-ladder from the corner of the room and set it up so he could untie him. While his fingers loosened the knot that tied the rope to the ceiling, he had a close-up view of Pete’s skin, marred by the rope burn. Despite the gore, William still felt the opposite of guilt seeing the extent of the wound.

William loosened the knot and just let the rope slip from his fingers, causing Pete‘s back to collide with the ground and splash into the pool of his own blood. He lay there, motionless and staring up at William, who was still on the step-ladder and stared back down at him a few more seconds before promptly stepping off.

“Well, you can just lay there and soak in your own blood,” William commented as he folded up the step-ladder. “Or, you know, you could actually acknowledge it’s going to be a hell of a long time before you even see a shower again and get up.”

“I was just thinking,” Pete said, staring up at the ceiling where the knot had been tied. “That if Gabe betrayed you, you’d probably do the same thing to him.”

“What?”

“Tie him up by his wrists with a rope.” Pete held up his wrists in front of his face to study them. The state of them was horrid, to say the least. “Or whatever method of torture you could think of, really.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You think he’s so loyal now,” Pete’s hands fell back into the blood, unceremoniously with less of a splash since the puddle was starting to coagulate and become sticky. “But maybe, just maybe, one day he’ll realize vampires aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And the minute he stops glorifying you, you’ll do the exact same thing.” His shrug dragged his arms through the drying blood puddle like he was making a snow angel. “Maybe not tying him up and making him bleed, but I’m sure it’ll be just as painful. Just a thought I had.”

William scoffed, knowing by now Pete had to be delirious. “Yeah, and pigs will fly, too.” He refastened the chains around Pete’s wrists while he still passively lay there. “Enjoy lying in a puddle of your own blood, I’ll be back tomorrow night to have more fun with you.”

William tucked the folded step-ladder under his arm as he walked out and locked the door behind him, while Pete fell asleep in the blood puddle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Pete.... :( I guess we'll have to see what his fate is and if Gabe will ever find out what's going on... anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (or as much as you can enjoy Pete bleeding a lot lol) And next chapter is when Gabe visits his mom, so don't think I forgot about that ;) this could go very bad or very okay.
> 
> Also some updates: I'm thinking of doing some editing on what I've already posted of this fanfic. It wouldn't be anything too major, just fixing some dialogue tags and maybe making the smut less cringey. I've also got a plan to try and finish the fanfic before I head off to college in a month, so even when I'm busy with art school you'll still be getting chapters weekly for a while! Yayyy!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that I projected some more Jewish mom stuff on lol (and when I say I projected, I mean I hardcore projected and there's like a fuck ton of Jewish words in the dialogue because I can't help myself but I think they're self-explanatory in the context?). It's also shorter than I expected it to be... oops. There's like a few sentences in Spanish at the very end that I'll ofc put a translation for in the end notes. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

“There’s just one thing I have to do before we leave.”

“Can’t it wait?” Gabe asked. He was already tying his shoes, sitting on the stairs by the front door. “My mom’s expecting us there in a few hours.”

“It’ll only take a minute,” William called out from another room, already on his way to the basement door. Even if he was only to be downstairs in the basement for a few minutes, glee still flooded every crevice of his veins just to think of seeing miserable Pete again.

“Hold out your wrists.”

Pete did not hold out his wrists, so William leaned down and forced them out from behind his legs that were folded in front of his chest. His wrists had begun to heal thanks to his vampirism, but the red and raw indentations left by the rope were still present. The blood was dried and caked in a thick layer around his fingernails and between his fingers, the skin of his palms stained red.

William took a container of table salt out of his pocket and screwed off the cap, then snatched one of Pete’s wrists to hold it out in front of him. Over the wound, William shook the salt repeatedly, causing it to fall in the lacerations. As soon as the salt came into contact with the tissue, Pete bit down on his bottom lip and tried not to wince in pain while William kept shaking the salt until the wound was coated with the fine white substance. When he decided it was enough, he rubbed the salt deeper in the wound roughly with his thumb.

“How does that feel, Pete?” William asked, his voice sarcastic with caring and glancing up from his wrist to his face. Pete was trying to hold back any reaction at the irritation of the salt, but tears were brimming in his eyes, wide with fear as he avoided William’s gaze. Pete bit down on his bottom lip hard enough a bead of blood dripped down. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything more elaborate right now.” William switched wrists to sprinkle salt on the other. “But I hope the salt keeps you busy.”

Pete, not knowing the reason for him doing the bare minimum in terms of torture was because William would be busy that night on a road trip with Gabe, thought it was a small mercy from the universe. He thought William was getting bored with him already, that maybe it would all be over soon. That was hardly the case, as Pete would find out later, but he could dream. “Fuck you.”

“Is that all you can do? Swear at me?” William tsked, shaking the salt more aggressively. “You could try harder to insult me.”

“You could try harder to torture me,” Pete said. “This is--” He clenched his eyes shut and suppressed a hiss by biting his lip harder. “This is nothing.”

William finally lifted the salt shaker away with a terrible glint in his eyes. “You don’t even _know_ how much worse it can get.” He sprung to his feet and the menacing tone of his voice became cheery as he said, “See you tomorrow, Pete!”

They had just driven past the border of New Jersey when Gabe groaned, “ _Ugh,_ my back hurts.”

William was paying more attention to the road and didn’t really comprehend what he was saying. “Does it?”

“Well, I’m pregnant, what do you think?” Gabe then sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest. “I should have expected it to start at some point, but damn, this _sucks._ ”

“When you’re a vampire, you won’t have to deal with that kind of shit anymore,” William said, glancing from the road to Gabe. “If there’s a second pregnancy, it’s going to be _so_ much easier on you. You’re going to love being a vampire, being so much less weak and human.”

“That’s great, Bilvy, but it hurts _now_ and that doesn’t help.”

“I’m just saying,” William said. Silence fell over the car.

Even though they had already talked on the phone a few times, Gabe’s greeting to his mother was slightly awkward. They exchanged hellos and stood in silence for a second, unsure whether to hug or not, until Jeanette moved to the side of the door to let them inside. After some small talk about how pleasant the weather was that day and about how much traffic there was on the way, Jeanette distracted William with old embarassing photo albums of baby Gabe so she could have a private conversation with Gabe in the kitchen.

“Do you want anything to drink?” she asked, opening the fridge. “Are you hungry? I have plenty of leftover challah.”

“Just water is okay, thanks.”

“You’re pregnant, mijo, are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” She continued to look through the fridge. “I could cook you something. Or we could order something, there’s plenty of good kosher restaurants around here. Come on, at least eat something. I don’t want you to leave hungry. What did you have for dinner?”

“I had enough for dinner,” Gabe answered flatly. “Really, Mame, I’m just fine with water.”

“Is he feeding you well?”

It took Gabe a second to realize she meant William. “Of course he is, he goes grocery shopping for me every week.”

Jeanette still frowned and took out the tupperware of leftover challah, setting it on the counter. “You’re still eating the challah. I have to keep you and my future granddaughter fed, don’t I?”

Gabe sighed but didn’t protest. He opened the container of challah and ate a piece. It tasted the same as he remembered it, except cold.

“Are you still keeping kosher?” she asked, closing the fridge and walking to the cupboard to get glasses. “I read it’s very good for the baby’s neshama.”

“Of course I am.”

“Well, you didn’t make a bracha and wash your hands before eating the challah.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not still kosher. I’ve just… been busy, with college and moving and all.”

“That’s no excuse.” She finished filling up a glass of tap water and set it on the counter beside Gabe, then began to fill up her own glass. “If you’re raising your baby with a _goy,_ you have to set a good example. William’s no tzadik from what I’ve heard about him.”

“I’ll consider it.” Gabe shrugged, eating another bite of challah. He doubted blessings before eating would do much to prevent his daughter from turning out similar to her father. “Let’s talk about something different.”

Jeanette nodded and turned off the faucet, taking a sip of her water as she looked down at Gabe’s round stomach. “When is the baby due?”

“December 20th.”

“Oh, that’s around Chanukkah, isn’t it? Imagine how nice it would be if her Hebrew birthday was during Chanukkah, what a lovely time of the year to be born. How long do you think you’ll wait to have a baby shower after the birth?”

“Oh… a baby shower…” Gabe hadn’t thought about the possibility of a baby shower after giving birth, considering William’s plans afterward, which he wasn’t sure how to properly explain to his mother. “I don’t think we’ll be able to have one… um, William’s going to… uh, he’s going to turn me into a vampire after I’ve recovered from giving birth.”

Jeanette’s face paled. She opened her mouth, then closed it, still trying to decide what exactly to say to that. Eventually, all she said was, “Oh.” Gabe avoided her eye contact, staring down at the piece of challah he held, until she asked quietly, “And… this is _okay_ with you?”

Gabe hesitated before saying, “Yeah.”

She still seemed horrified. “ _Mijo,_ are you sure? You… you’re going to give up your entire life for someone like him?”

“I’m not giving up my life for him. It’ll just be different, that’s all. I really don’t mind.”

“Is he forcing you into this?” Jeanette demanded. She didn’t give Gabe a chance to reply, as it seemed she already knew the answer. “You can’t stay with someone, especially him, who’s making you do something as extreme as becoming a vampire!”

“Mame, calm down. William’s only doing it because he loves me, and I love him. Once you really get to know him, you’ll understand, I swear.”

“It’s gone too far.” She shook her head disdainfully before urging, “You should call the police.”

“I can’t.”

“I know it’s hard, but it’s too far,” Jeanette took a step toward him and placed her hand on his shoulder gently. “I know you love him, but with everything that’s happened, he’s only trouble.”

“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t call the police. I’d be in even more danger,” Gabe leaned back against the counter, finally looking up to his mother’s eyes. “I overheard the police talking when we were hiding from them. They called me a _k*ke._ And a dirty immigrant,” Tears started to gather in his eyes. “They were talking about how much they wanted to kill me and my baby!”

She stood still in shock. “Mijo...”

Gabe, trembling with sobs at this point, hugged his mother. As he cried, he whispered into her shoulder, “No puedo, _no puedo._ ”

“Comprendo, mijo, comprendo,” Jeanette reassured him, her arms wrapped around him tight. There were tears gathering in her eyes, too.

Later that night, after Gabe had finished crying, Jeanette excused herself to the bathroom in the middle of a much more lighthearted conversation with him and William. As soon as the door was locked, she called Diego.

“No puedo,” she said as soon as Diego picked up, and then clarified, “No puedo llamar la policía.”

“¡¿Por qué no?!” Diego demanded, immediately furious. “¡Su vida y el bebé están en riesgo!”

And so, she explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:
> 
> “I can't,” she said as soon as Diego picked up, and then clarified, “I can't call the police.”
> 
> “Why not?!” Diego demanded, immediately furious. “His life and the baby are at risk!”
> 
> And so, she explained.
> 
> \-----------
> 
> Poor Gabe :( Anyways the next chapter probably doesn't get any better for him and Pete aha


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might like what happens at the end of this chapter!! or you might not. depends. enjoy!

Gabe soaked in the warm July sun as he sat outside on the patio, a book in his hand while enjoying the faint rush of the nearby creek. It was one of the hotter days of summer, about two weeks since they’d returned from Gabe’s mother’s house in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, William stood inside, watching from behind a thick curtain as Gabe sunbathed. Although he was glad to see Gabe using what little time he had left to enjoy the sun, it did somewhat worry him. He would rather Gabe didn’t get attached to the pleasantries of human life. The less he missed from being human, the easier it would be to adjust him to vampirism. And even though he trusted Gabe, William couldn’t help but be unsettled by the fact Gabe was completely out of his reach in the sunlight.

When the sun started to sink below the mountains and mosquitoes began to venture from the brush, Gabe finally came back inside after a few hours spent in the sun. William had been nice enough to make him dinner, a plant-based burger and fries, but since his cooking skills were limited, Gabe had to pretend they didn’t taste somewhat bland and burnt. They both sat on the cream-colored couch in the living room, watching a home-makeover show as Gabe ate.

“So,” William said, looking away from the TV. “How was being out in the sun today? Seems like you enjoyed it.”

Gabe finished chewing a fry and said, “Pretty nice. I’m halfway through that book you recommended to me. It’s interesting so far. My back was hurting again though, so that made it hard to pay attention to.”

William nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that sucks. At least you won’t have to deal with that when you’re a vampire, you’ve got that to look forward to.”

Gabe sighed. “Could you stop bringing that up?”

“Why?” William asked. “It’s gonna happen eventually. You can’t just pretend it’s not going to happen.”

“I’d just rather not think about it.”

“You can’t ignore it, Gabanti. It’s reality. I don’t see why you’re so against this all of a sudden. When I first brought up the idea to you a few months ago, you were so excited about it. Now you’re acting like it’s the worst thing in the world.”

“You’re being so overdramatic!”

“You can’t focus on the positives. You’re going to be _immortal,_ babe. You’re not going to so fucking weak and flimsy and you’re not going to get so much damn annoying back pain whenever the next pregnancy is! There are so many people who would kill to be in your position right now, people who wouldn’t spend all their time moping in the sun all the time. Why can’t you just realize how lucky you are, how much of a favor I’m going to do making you a vampire instead of a frail human?”

Gabe only stared back at William bitterly. “So that’s what you _really_ think of me, huh?” He slammed his plate onto the coffee table and stood up. “That’s what you think of me for carrying our _baby?_ ”

“Wait, no, that’s not what I meant--” William tried to backtrack, but Gabe turned around and stormed upstairs.

There was nothing more Gabe wanted than to complain about what William had just said and forget about it. However, there was only so much thinking to himself he could take and he wasn’t about to start talking to the baby about it. Since William had thrown his phone out of the car window when they were on the run, the only numbers Gabe had on the cheap burner phone he’d started using recently were William’s and his mom’s. His mother could probably be trusted since surprisingly no police had shown up when they’d visited her, but Gabe was still unsure if it was the best idea to call her crying and possibly exacerbate her worries about the relationship.

But then again, the pregnancy hormones made Gabe not really care about all that. He dialed her number while his tears dripped onto the unmade and wrinkled bed sheets.

As soon as Jeanette picked up, Gabe sobbed out, “Am I ugly?”

“¿Qué? No, mijo, of course not! What do you mean? Did William say something?”

“No. Well, not exactly, but…”

“Dime, ¿qué?”

Gabe swallowed back a lump in his throat and tried to blink away the tears gathering in his blurry eyes. “I… it’s really my fault, but I’ve been complaining about back pain recently because of the baby and William keeps saying I’ll be so much better as a vampire and less weak, but I don’t know, it’s just been making me feel bad about myself like I’m just some weak useless human even though I’m literally carrying our baby and I should be proud of that, but he just makes it worse when he says that even though it’s not what he means.”

Certainly, after learning what the police had said about Gabe, Jeanette _wanted_ to be more favorable toward William and give him a chance even though that was proving to be hard at the current moment. “I doubt that’s not what he meant, mijo. Did you tell him how you feel about him saying those things?”

“I did.” Gabe’s eyes squeezed shut as he bit his bottom lip, trying not to let out a cry. “I tried to tell him I didn’t like it… but he said that me being a vampire was going to happen eventually and I have to get used to it.”

“This isn’t your fault,” she quickly reassured him. “He’s the one that’s being unreasonable. When you’re both less… emotional, you should try to talk it out again.”

Gabe sniffled. “You’re right.”

“And you are _not_ ugly, and you are _not_ weak. William will never understand how hard it is to be pregnant. You got to make him understand how difficult it is on you and that you are so strong for going through all this for your daughter, okay?”

“Okay. I will.” Gabe sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you, Mame.”

“De nada. And you know if William is ever too much for you, if he ever puts your or your daughter in danger, me and your father are always going to help you no matter what. So if he ever…”

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks.” Gabe should have expected that dreaded part of the conversation to come up. “Really though, you don’t have to worry. William’s still great.”

“Mhm,” she doubtfully hummed. “But, really, if you ever need anything, you know I’m always there for you. You should give your father a call soon, he’d understand the situation if you told him.”

“I... don’t really have his number anymore?”

“Why not? Did you delete it?”

It was much easier for Gabe to just say he deleted it rather than explain William had chucked his previous cell phone out of a moving car. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll give it to you whenever you’re ready to call him again, because he is your father. You’d better write this down. It’s…”

As Jeanette read out Diego’s number, Gabe didn’t bother to write it down. Instead, he stayed firmly in place, curled up on his and William’s bed. “Okay, I got that,” he said, wiping his tear-streaked cheek with the palm of his hand. Although he had been indifferent beforehand, now he started to regret not writing it down. The heightened emotions of crying made Gabe miss his father’s warm and rough voice that had always been there for him when his mother wasn’t. Even so, he felt some weird form of guilt even thinking about asking her to repeat the number, so he continued to pretend he’d written it down. “Thanks. I’ll call him soon.”

“About fucking time you come down here,” Pete said once he heard the door creak open and William’s footsteps follow. “It’s been a few days. I was starting to think you got tired of my beautiful, mutilated self.”

“Cut the crap and _shut up,_ ” William hissed, slamming the heavy door closed with a startling _clang!_ “You think you’re anywhere close to being mutilated? I’ll fucking show you _mutilated._ ”

Before Pete could even have a chance to flinch, William’s fist struck with the side of his face, slamming his head against the nearby wall with unspeakable force. As Pete slowly moved his aching and throbbing head to look up, what small granules of the wall that weren’t embedded in his skin fell to his shoulder. William was standing over him, a ruthless scowl on his face. “You look more pissed than usual,” Pete observed.

William didn’t reply. Instead, he yanked Pete from the ground by the greasy strands of hair that had been hardened by dried blood and flung him against the wall with such impact that it could shatter any ordinary human’s spine. The chains on Pete’s wrists pulled mercilessly at him as he was thrown. Once he hit the wall with a groan and a loud _thump_ that reverberated throughout the basement, he slowly started to sink back down to the floor. His entire body, having suffered William’s abuses for weeks now, only felt brittle and easily vulnerable, wanting so badly to give up but still going due to his curse of vampirism.

Before Pete had fully sank to the ground, William landed a kick in his ribs. A sickening crack echoed through the room. Pete only bit down on his tongue and moaned long and pitifully at the pain. He tried to tell himself it would be over any minute now.

Luckily, it seemed like that was all it took this time for William to let off some steam. William glanced down, studied the miserable and shuddering mess that was his prisoner, and commented, “You could really use a nice, warm bath, couldn’t you? Too bad you can’t go upstairs. I bet by now you’re starting to get thirsty as well.”

Pete hadn’t noticed his thirst much. The injuries inflicted by William were usually much more distracting.

“Maybe I should just leave you to starve,” William taunted as he bent down and stroked along a healing gash under Pete’s jaw. “Although I’m sure you’re already plenty used to it on that sad thing your friend used to call a blood substitute. It’d probably pain you more to drink blood from someone I killed, wouldn’t it?”

Pete tried not to let it show that he was bothered, hoping William wouldn’t go to that extreme even though his known character just assured the possibility.

“Well, Pete, it was nice talking with you,” William said, standing back up straight and walking out of the room. “See you soon.”

“Gabe?” William called into the library. “You in here?”

“Yeah.”

William stepped into the room and saw Gabe was sitting in the window seat, gazing out at the view of mountains in the distance. William’s arms were behind his back, hiding what he had in his hands as he approached Gabe. “I’m sorry about yesterday. Is it okay if we talk about it?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said, continuing to look out the window.

William sat beside him on the window seat and held out what he had hidden behind his back toward him. “I got this for you.” It was a cream-colored teddy bear, soft and with innocent bead eyes that stared up at Gabe. “I know it’s not much and it doesn’t make up for everything, but--”

“I love it!” A grin broke out on Gabe’s face and he took the teddy bear, squeezing it to his chest. He looked up from the bear up at William, his eyes lit with genuine gratitude. “Thank you so much.” Still holding the bear with one hand, he hugged William. For a few minutes, they stayed in that tight, loving embrace, until Gabe finally pulled back and again said, “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I fucking _love_ it.” Gabe held the bear closely, still smiling. “So, about yesterday…”

“I’m really sorry,” William apologized. “I’ll try not to bring up the vampire thing as much anymore. You’re pregnant, you should get to complain as much as you want. I really appreciate you, I can’t even imagine how hard it is carrying our daughter.”

“Thanks. That’s pretty much what I was hoping to tell you already, so I’m glad you understand.”

“I’ll try not to get mad at silly stuff like that again.” William leaned in and pressed a kiss to Gabe’s cheek. “So, everything’s good?”

“I think so,” Gabe said. William was about to lean in again to kiss him, but then Gabe asked, “So, what was all that noise in the basement earlier?”

“Oh? That?” William struggled for words for a second as he tried to make up an excuse. “Umm… just moving stuff around again.”

“What were you moving?”

“Oh… just… things.”

Gabe narrowed his eyes at him. “You know you can trust me, Bilvy. I’m sure whatever’s down there can’t be that big of a deal. Why can’t I even go in the basement?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t want to go down there. It’s all gross and stuff.”

“Then why are you always down there?”

“I’ll tell you eventually,” William promised, although he really had no intentions of Gabe ever finding out he was keeping Pete down there. “But really, there’s nothing down there for you to worry about, alright? You can trust me.”

Gabe sighed. “Just tell me what’s in the basement. Really, I--”

He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the house. They both paused, immediately forgetting the previous topic of conversation. The doorbell was rarely used.

“That’s… odd,” William said. The doorbell rang again. “Stay here, I’ll go see what it is.”

Gabe nodded, holding the teddy bear tightly to his chest. William stood up and hurried out of the library of the house to the front door. He leaned against the door and peered into the peephole, agape once he saw who was standing at the door. He could hardly believe it; it had been weeks, and by now he’d given up hope of even seeing him again.

William rushed to unlock the door and flung it open with a wide grin on his face. “Brendon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brendon's back! I wonder if anything will happen... well, I already know what happens, but I guess you guys gotta wait ;) Also the teddy bear thing is inspired by that one photo of Gabe holding a teddy bear, idk if I can find it right now but hopefully some of you know which photo I mean? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are excited for the next one!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting you guys know now that I had to add some important tags to this fic, sorta spoiler-y but if you think you could get triggered then please do look (don't worry, when those tags do come into play later on, I'll warn you in the beginning notes). Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Also my friend found the picture of Gabe with the teddy bear from last chapter!! (tysm ily mikeyskies) If you're interested: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMVWQTGDBDK/?igshid=1fxnag0ntirsz

As soon as he saw William’s face, Brendon smiled. He was rough and disheveled from his journey, strands of his greasy hair sticking up every which way and coagulated with dried blood. His chin and lips were blemished with blood, likely as a result of the long and jagged scar that had yet to heal running across his cheek to his jaw. He still wore the same t-shirt from the day the Dandy house had been broken into, torn and stained since then, as well as a battered leather jacket and jeans of which the knees were covered in mud. Even though he was hardly tired physically, it was apparent there was some sort of mental exhaustion in his manner. His posture became relaxed and his eyes softened as he stood at the door, relieved he was finally here. “William!”

He extended his arms to William and the two of them immediately hugged. Brendon’s clothing had been permeated with the strangely-comforting smell of campfire smoke, gas station soap, and blood, a foreign mix William breathed in deeply. Mumbling against his shoulder, William marvelled, “I thought you’d be _dead,_ ” as he tightened his arms around him more securely. William didn’t want to ever let him go, not after already nearly losing the fellow Dandy he’d trusted and treasured the most.

“I thought I’d be, too,” Brendon remarked.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, only pulling back when Gabe had finally come to the door to see what was going on and gasped. “Brendon!”

“Gabe!” Brendon hugged him as well for a minute before he let go. “I was so worried about you guys. How are you all doing? Is the baby okay?” He glanced down at Gabe’s bump and grinned. “Holy shit, the baby’s grown a lot since we last saw each other.”

“We’re doing great,” William said. “And so is the baby. She’s big enough that I can actually feel her kicking now.”

“No way, that’s awesome!” Brendon said, amazed. “How long has it been since the raid?”

William thought for a second, counting on his fingers before he came to the conclusion, “Over a month. Nearly two months, actually, I think.”

“Two months?” The light surprise on Brendon’s face morphed into shock. “I can’t believe it took me almost _two months_ to get here, what the hell?”

“Come on inside and we’ll discuss it,” William said. “I’ve got questions.”

After Brendon had taken the first shower he’d had in weeks and changed into a fresh set of clothes, they all sat down at the table in the kitchen to catch up. William asked right away, “So, what happened after we ran away? Did anyone else survive?”

“We tried to fight the cops off as best we could and hold them off from you guys.” The previous relief Brendon had disappeared as he recounted what had happened to the remaining Dandies after William and Gabe’s escape. “But there were just so many of them. They had stakes, guns, and then they even brought in tear gas and flamethrowers to drive us out of the house. It was _horrendous._ ” He shuddered, a chill seeping through his spine as he remembered the raw searing in his eyes from the gas and smoke, the screams of all his friends as they dropped like rag dolls. “I barely got out of there alive. After a few hours of hiding in the woods, me and the remaining Dandies regrouped. There were only four of us we could find; me, Ryan, Butcher, and Spencer.”

“Are they…” William started to ask, trailing off. He had hardly any hope in the way he’d said it, his eyes flickering to the table mournfully. Underneath the table, Gabe took his hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb for comfort.

“After we got our fake IDs and shit from that abandoned barn, that’s when it started, they… um…” Brendon stopped and covered his mouth with his hand, blinking away tears. “Sorry, it’s just hard to think about.”

“Take your time, Brendon,” William reassured him.

Brendon nodded, closing his eyes for a few moments until he could speak. “Um… we were in Ohio, I think, when Spencer… he just ran out into the sun. We couldn’t stop him in time.”

It was obvious by the drop in William’s expression how his heart sank. “Spencer?” He clutched Gabe’s hand tighter. “Did he do it on purpose?”

“I think so,” Brendon said. “When we were travelling, it became clear just how traumatized he was from the raid. He woke up with disturbing nightmares all the time about it. He became convinced that when we got here, you guys wouldn’t be alive either. He thought that he wouldn’t have a purpose anymore. So he… he just... yeah. He killed himself. Ugh, it was awful to watch.”

William leaned back in his chair, processing what he had just been told. It was difficult to keep the image of Spencer in the sun out of his head, how his limbs must have flailed desperately, how his throat must have burned from the screams of agony as the sunlight slowly sparked and consumed his flesh, how his last thoughts were probably only regret and waiting for it to finally end. A death by sunlight was by far one of the most horrifying to a vampire, a torturous form that one would have to be desperate to choose as a method of suicide. After a long, stretching silence, he spoke up, “And the others?”

“We were almost here.” Brendon gulped, swallowing back the sobs that were rising in his throat. “We were _so_ close. We were just on the border, the _cusp_ of New York, when we ran into some hunters in Pennsylvania while we were looking for blood. Ryan was killed, and Butcher, he just… for some reason he surrendered and tried to bargain with them to let him join them. Those damn hunters took him in, but at least that gave me a chance to escape. So that just left me.”

“I’m so sorry, Brendon,” William apologized. Although he managed to hold his voice steady, he had to reach up to wipe a tear off of his cheek. “You have nobody to blame for all this but me. I should have been more careful, I still don’t even know _how…_ ”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Brendon said. “I’m sure they would have all understood, you were just trying to keep Gabe and your daughter safe. You didn’t know this would happen.”

“You’re… you’re right.” William nodded, voice succumbing to trembling. He sniffled. “Gabe, would you be a dear and get us some tissues?”

“Of course.” Gabe got up and left the kitchen, returning silently with a box of tissues he placed in the middle of the table. Both Brendon and William took a few tissues to dab at their eyes and noses delicately, doing their best not to launch into full-blown crying that would have probably lasted hours. The thoughts of Spencer and Ryan’s deaths, of Butcher’s betrayal, of all that the other Dandies had gone through in their last moments, it was all too much to allow to fully sink in at once.

Once they had all calmed down enough to move onto another topic, Brendon mentioned, “So, is it just you guys here? You haven’t turned anyone yet?”

“No.” William shook his head. “Even though it’s leaving us vulnerable without the protection, I couldn’t risk Gabe’s safety like that as long as he’s human. This isn’t an ideal location for a gang, anyway. It’s certainly an unsuspecting place to hide, but the population isn’t enough to support more than a few vampires. I’ll start thinking about turning people again once Gabe’s gotten used to being a vampire and we’ve gotten used to being parents.”

“Makes sense,” Brendon agreed. Meanwhile, Gabe’s stomach felt uneasy again at the mention he’d eventually be a vampire.

“Is it okay if I excuse myself to go to bed?” Gabe requested, placing a hand on his stomach. “It’s been a long day.”

“Of course, you should get your rest. Brendon and I have to discuss some important matters, anyway. Good night, darling.”

“Night, Bilvy.” Gabe kissed William good night and then turned to Brendon. “Night to you, too. It’s great seeing you again.”

“It’s great seeing you again, too. Night.”

After Gabe had left the kitchen, William waited for a few moments to make sure he was out of earshot and leaned over the table to whisper to Brendon, “He’s not been fond of the concept of the whole ‘turning’ thing lately. I can’t even mention it without him getting bothered about it. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You didn’t really give him a choice in the first place,” Brendon said. “I mean, you only pretend to give people you ask a choice. You were thinking about just turning him early anyways, before you found out he’s pregnant.”

“It’d be stupid to give anyone a choice,” William snickered. “The only people who’d actually say yes are vampire fuckers. It’s not exactly something you can understand the worth of until you actually are a vampire, right?”

“Right,” Brendon agreed. “You do have a point.”

“Well, onto more interesting things. You _can’t_ tell Gabe what I’m about to tell you at all, though, you have to swear to me.”

“I swear, I won’t tell him. What is it?”

William leaned over the table further and whispered under his breath with a wicked grin, “I’ve got Pete in the basement.”

“No way!” Brendon gasped. “How the hell did you get Pete all the way here?”

“He just showed up, just like _that!_ ” William snapped his fingers for emphasis. “I suppose he wanted to rescue Gabe or something heroic like that, but he’d showed up all completely alone. He was practically _begging_ me to capture him. But anyways, you have to promise you won’t tell Gabe or even let him in the basement at all. He’d be so pissed if he found out I’m keeping Pete down there.”

“Got it, I definitely won’t tell him.” Brendon, excited, could hardly sit still in his seat, kicking the heels of his feet against the floor. “Could I maybe… see Pete?”

“Yes!” William’s chair squeaked against the floor as he shot up. While they hurried to the basement door, his eyes blazed with untamed fervor as he claimed, “You are going to _love_ seeing how much of a mess I’ve made him. He’s honestly a fucking wreck! Maybe you could even have a little… _fun_ with him down there if you’re up to it.”

“Oh,” Brendon smirked. “I would _love_ to.”

“Oh, _Pete,_ " William sang as he unlocked the door. "I’ve got a surprise for you!” Pete slowly lifted his head up from his shoulder, startled out of sleep by his voice. He'd expected there to be the usual days-long gap between seeing him; he’d started napping excessively to pass the time and temporarily ease the way his entire body always ached.

“What’s your surprise, _bitch?_ ” Pete groaned. “Your surprises always suck ass.”

“Well, that’s too bad, because I have a rather good one.” William flicked the lightswitch on, revealing Brendon to be standing next to him. “Look at who returned. Pete, didn’t you miss him?

Pete didn’t say anything, instead coldly returning Brendon’s stare as he loomed over him and drank in his pitiful state.

“It’s just like old times, Pete,” Brendon taunted, walking up to him. “Remember when I had to watch your turning while you were all tied up in chains in the basement?” He kicked at a stray loop of the thick metal chains on the floor that held Pete in place. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

“Just hurry up and hurt me already,” Pete said. “Everything you’re saying goes in one ear and out the other.”

“Now, Pete, that’s no way to talk to my second-in-command.” William pouted. “I was hoping you’d have learned some respect by now.”

“Second-in-command? _Ha!_ ” Pete barked out a short laugh. “Both of you are _nothing._ The Dandies are nothing more than a fucking _name_ now.”

William slightly jerked his head at Brendon as he turned to him and said, “You can hurt him as much as you like. Just don’t kill him. Would you like a little alone time with him?”

“Thank you. Some alone time would be great.”

“Wonderful. Call me when you’re done so I can lock the door for you, take as long as you like.”

Once William had left the room and shut the door behind him with a slam, Brendon began to pace the room, keeping his eyes on Pete. “I’ve got a lot of emotions I could take out on you right now. I just watched so many of my dear friends die, all because you decided to call Gabe’s RA on him and William and force them into hiding.”

“Then do it.”

Brendon didn’t reply. Eventually, he stopped pacing. “Do you remember when you finished turning? And you refused to drink some dead girl’s blood?”

“Unfortunately.”

“How long _has_ it been since you’ve last drank?” Brendon asked. “I’m curious to know whether the thirst was worse now or then, when you finished turning.”

Thirst was something Pete had tried not to think about since William had brought it up last. “Can we talk about something else?”

“So then I must have struck a nerve, huh?”

“Don’t act all cocky because of it.”

“Isn’t it slowly driving you crazy?” Brendon knelt down and ran his fingers over the marred skin of Pete’s neck, scarred and covered in dried blood and grime. “Does it feel like sandpaper being shoved down the inside of your throat, slowly scratching and scratching until you can’t notice anything else?”

The way Brendon had phrased it was so eerily exact that it pissed Pete off. He reached up and tried to slap Brendon’s hand away from his throat, but the chains and wounds that weighed on him made it weak and more of a pat. There was only a rattling of metal as Brendon felt his effortless attack at fighting back. The Pete he knew would have tried to kill him by now if Brendon was this close; William wasn’t kidding when he said he was a wreck.

“You did taste it once, though, haven’t you?” Brendon asked, then clarifying, “ _Real_ blood. You know, from an actual pumping heart racing with fear and not a blender?”

Pete had. He had tried to repress the memory, tried to forget he’d ever done it. It only brought a nasty sort of guilt to the surface of his stomach.

“Smooth, red, dripping blood,” Brendon started to describe. He leaned in close to Pete’s ear, whispering, “It’s so _warm,_ so _fresh,_ so incomparable to any simple human food. Haven’t you ever wished to have it again?”

“Not at the cost of someone else’s life.”

“You don’t _have_ to kill someone.” He moved back from Pete’s ear and met his eyes as he cocked his head with a smile. “It’s just more fun that way. Well, anyway, I guess I’m just delaying the inevitable, right?” Brendon’s hand stopped tracing Pete’s neck, freezing there. Instead, his fingernails slowly started to dig into the skin. Blood dripped from the crescent-shaped marks, caking Brendon’s nails. Pete suppressed a hiss at the pain, biting down and digging his fangs into his bottom lip as hard as he could.

Brendon suddenly popped his nails out of Pete’s skin and lifted his fingers to his mouth, tongue darting out to lick at the blood on the tips of his fingers. “I hope William lets me come down here more often. We’re going to get to know each other real well, hm? Especially tonight.”

Pete didn’t think Brendon’s form of torture could be comparable to William’s, but he was wrong. A grieving vampire was just as bad as an insane one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Brendon and Pete :( Anyways, guys, I have AMAZING news and it's that I finished this fic!! I'm so happy and although it's not all edited yet currently the entire thing is over 120,000 words and I'm very proud of myself. So yeah, I'll keep posting weekly as always and it looks like the last chapter will be posted in December. Things are gonna get good ;)
> 
> Btw I'm going to college next week and I'll still be posting weekly, but if I am ever a few days late posting please forgive me!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this chapter from my desk in my dorm... feels kinda wild lmao. It's truly an experience to read over smut you wrote when your roommate is in the same room. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Gabe was starting to notice William and Brendon had been spending a _lot_ more time in the basement. However, every time he asked what they were doing down there, it was always a vague answer, like fixing pipes or cleaning or rearranging furniture, even though the closet with the tool box and cleaning supplies had been left virtually untouched.

“You wouldn’t want to go down there,” Brendon assured him when confronted. “It’s all nasty and covered in cobwebs and dirt. And the stairs are old, you could easily fall through them or trip on a nail.”

It wasn’t like the door was locked, but Gabe supposed he should trust them. William was the one who owned the house, after all.

Gabe was eating his Shabbat dinner with William across from him, the two candles on the table glowing between them, when he asked, “So, what’s Brendon up to tonight?”

“I think he’s in the basement.”

“Oh.” Gabe ripped off another piece of raisin challah but didn’t eat it, instead squishing it in his fingers as if it were a stress toy. “You guys are really obsessed with cleaning that basement, huh?”

“You don’t have to bring it up so much!” William snapped, throwing himself back in his chair and crossing his arms. “What’s so _fascinating_ about the basement to you? Really, tell me!”

“I was just asking.” Gabe glanced down at his plate and squeezed the piece of challah harder. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.” William leaned back forward, reaching across the table to take Gabe’s free hand. “I reacted too harshly. Look…” Gabe looked back up and met his eyes. “If you really want to look at what’s down in the basement, I’ll bring you down there sometime, but it’s really just as boring as I make it out to be.”

“Great!” Gabe threw down the piece of challah onto his plate. “Can we go down there now?”

“Maybe when Brendon’s finished. I wouldn’t want to interrupt him.”

Later that night, Gabe followed William down to the basement. The weak, worn wooden stairs creaked with every step. It was just as unsuspicious as he’d been told it would be when the lights flickered on, casting the basement with dim white light. The walls were concrete and plain, spiderwebs hanging off the ceiling. There was a pile of boxes in the corner, along with a dusty boiler, empty shelves, and a breaker box.

“See?” William asked, as Gabe wandered the room. “It’s just some dirty basement.”

However, in his observation, Gabe soon came across the heavy metal door at the opposite side of the basement and pointed at it. “What’s in here?”

“Nothing, really,” William said, moving next to him. “We were going to use it to keep turning vampires if we ever came here on vacation and happened upon someone I thought deserved it, but we lost the keys.” He took the door knob and tried to turn it, but it stayed firmly in place, rattling the door. “See? That’s one of the things Brendon and I have to do sometime, take down this damn door.”

However, the sound of metal being slowly dragged across the floor came from the room behind the door, as well as a low, squeak-like moan. “What was that sound?”

“That?” William sighed in annoyance, and on the spot, easily came up with the lie, “Oh, probably the _rats._ ”

“ _Rats?_ ” Gabe demanded, wrinkling his nose.

“Yeah. Another reason I don’t want you coming down here. Even though I think they’re only in that room, I’m worried they’ll find a way out. So even if you could get inside, you definitely _shouldn’t._ Who knows what diseases they could have on them if they bit you?”

“Ugh.” Gabe shuddered in disgust, easily believing the lie. “You _need_ to get rid of those rats before the baby’s born. Imagine if they got upstairs! I don’t want those things anywhere near our daughter.”

“We’re working on it, don’t worry,” William promised. “Let’s go back upstairs, there’s not much else to see.”

“Yeah, _definitely._ I don’t think I could stand being down here any longer.” Under his breath, Gabe muttered in disbelief, “Fucking _rats._ ”

“So, have you guys been working on the whole rat situation?” Gabe brought up, as him and Brendon were playing video games on their new gaming console. William had bought it earlier, citing it as an out-of-the-blue gift as rich people often do, although really its main purpose was to keep Gabe from paying attention to the basement.

“ _Rat situation?_ ” Brendon shot him a weird look. “What rats?”

“The rats in the basement that William said you guys were working on yesterday?”

“Oh, yes! Those!” Brendon pretended to suddenly recall, but he was a much worse liar than William. Gabe wasn’t fooled by how weak and forced his reaction was. He jabbed a button on his video game controller to pause the game and turned to Brendon.

“The rats don’t exist, do they?”

“Um…” Brendon attempted to think of a way to make it sound plausible for exactly only a second before he had to admit, “No.”

“I’m so stupid!” Gabe dropped his controller into his lap. “What is it _really,_ then, if it’s not rats?” He stared at Brendon expectantly, shrugging his shoulders at him as he waited for an answer. “What the hell is it? What the hell are you hiding?”

Brendon opened his mouth, but then closed it as he tried to find a better excuse. As he kept struggling to say something, consistently inhaling slightly to talk before realizing maybe something wasn’t the best way to put it several times, William entered the living room and leaned against the back of the couch. It was very clear he had overheard Gabe’s questioning. William cleared his throat and asked, “Brendon, aren’t you supposed to be doing the grocery shopping tonight?”

“Right, I’ll go do that right now!” Brendon eagerly agreed. He threw aside his video game controller, very glad to have an excuse to leave, and shot off the couch. “I’ll be back in an hour!”

As William sat where Brendon had been, Gabe still wasn’t deterred. “I can’t believe you lied to me about the rats! I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about them crawling around and shit!”

“I’m sorry,” William apologized, leaning in and pressing his lips to Gabe’s, hoping that would make him shut up and calm down. But Gabe didn’t kiss back, pulling away instead.

“Kissing me isn’t gonna just make me forget you lied to me! You don’t even trust me to know what’s actually in that room.”

“I _do_ trust you, Gabanti, of course I do. I shouldn’t have lied to you.” He placed his hand on Gabe’s thigh and licked his lips. “Can I... make it up to you?”

“Only if you tell me what you’re really doing in the basement.”

“I can’t tell you. But it’s for a good reason, I _swear._ ”

“Really?” Gabe asked, tilting his head and pitifully raising his eyebrows at him. He slid off the couch to the floor and knelt in front of William, placing his hands on his knees strategically to spread his legs. “That’s too bad, you know. Maybe I would have sucked your dick. Maybe I would have let you drink my blood. Oh well, right?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“No, you are.” One of Gabe’s hands traced up the inside of William’s thigh. “All you have to do is tell me and then we can fuck.” He shrugged. “It’s as simple as that.”

“Or,” William suggested, “we could skip that altogether and just fuck already.” He slid off of the couch and sat in front of Gabe, his breath cold on his ear as he whispered, “I don’t think you’d really mind that much, would you?”

Gabe remained silent for a few moments before stating, “You don’t trust me.”

“Of _course_ I do. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be dating you in the first place.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“There’s a reason I can’t tell you,” William reassured him. “One day, I’ll tell you because I _do_ trust you. But that’s not today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon.”

Gabe, knowing he was getting nowhere with this conversation, nodded disappointingly. “Okay.”

“I trust you, and you have to trust me on this, too.” William brought his hand up to Gabe’s cheek and slowly stroked the tips of his fingers down to brush over his lips. “I’ve gotten us this far after all we’ve been through, haven’t I? I know what I’m doing. I’m keeping this secret for us, for your safety, for the baby’s safety. Do you trust that, at least?”

Gabe thought upon his words and then met his eyes. “I do. I do trust you, Bilvy.”

“Good.” William smiled warmly before he kissed him hard, relieved that the basement inquiries seemed to be out of the way for now. William was rough, pushing Gabe against the coffee table and cutting off the kiss to suddenly and wordlessly bite his neck. As he drank Gabe’s blood, the liquid ruby that spilled over onto his lips and tongue, he angled his hips to grind onto Gabe with every swallow. Gabe moaned at the light sting of the bite, at the way William’s nails pressed into his skin sharply.

When William had finished drinking his blood, he quickly moved back up to press a messy and long kiss to Gabe’s lips, coating them hot with blood. He shoved his hand down the waistband of Gabe’s jeans, hissing, “I’m gonna fuck you so _hard,_ you whore, that you’re not gonna have anything else to think about for _days._ ” He pulled Gabe’s pants and boxers down to his ankles, yanked them off, and pushed them across the floor, then leaned back in to kiss Gabe and grind against him again. “So. Fucking. _Hard._ ”

"Please.” Gabe barely had time to beg between William’s kisses and his own resulting moans. “ _Please._ ”

William pulled away and pushed Gabe to the floor by his shoulders, kissing him again and then licking at the blood he’d gotten on his lips. “Beg me to fuck you. Do you _really_ think you deserve it?”

“I _do,_ please, I need you so fucking much, I need you!” Gabe thrust his hips up, needing friction as he only got harder. “I’ll stop asking about the basement, I’ll be good, please just fuck me!” he whined.

“You’re sure you’ll be good? You won’t ask about it again?”

“Yes, I will!” It probably wasn’t the best thing to be agreeing to when Gabe was only thinking about sex, but then again, he was only thinking about sex.

“Mm, good.” William stood up, stretching to take off his shirt and push off his own pants as he stood above Gabe. When he got back to the floor and over Gabe’s legs again, he leaned back into him and bit into the same place on his neck again that had just started to heal, sucking up more blood in his mouth so he could spit it onto his fingers. He parted Gabe’s legs and, without warning, inserted his blood-coated fingers into him so he could stretch him. William was quick with his fingers, adding a third without asking if he should. “You’re doing so good for me, baby, _so good._ I can’t wait to fuck you.” On purpose, he brushed against Gabe’s prostate with his fingers, causing Gabe to moan loudly and arch his back.

“ _Shit,_ ” Gabe swore breathlessly, “I need you, I need you, I need you rightfuckingnow.”

“Do you, you fucking slut?” William asked, brushing against the spot. “Or are you gonna just cum before my cock is even in you, whore?”

“ _Please, please,_ fuck me, William, cógeme!”

William slid his fingers out of his ass and grabbed Gabe’s jaw. “Tell me you’re my whore and then I will.”

“I’m your whore,” Gabe whined, grinding his hips up in desperation. “I’m your whore, _please,_ just--”

“Good,” William said satisfactorily. He kissed him before he let go of his jaw and then took his hands, pinning them to the ground above his head. William positioned his cock and then thrust into Gabe abruptly. As he started to thrust into him repeatedly, each time harder than the last, William cried out, “Shit, that’s good, _holy shit,_ you’re such a good slut for me.”

Gabe threw his head back as William’s grip on his wrists tightened, as he hit the right spot with every snap of hips. A bead of blood that hadn’t yet dried dripped off of William’s chin, landing on Gabe’s cheek. “ _Dios,_ that’s so fucking good, so fucking _good._ ”

“It _better_ be.” William told him, thrusting even harder into him. Gabe’s mouth fell open in a silent scream. “Are you gonna cum soon, you slut?”

“Yeah, holy shit, yeah.” And with one last thrust of William’s cock into him, he came. As the orgasm rode over him, William kept fucking into him and kept his wrists pressed to the ground as Gabe writhed and moaned. Once Gabe had came, gasping out William’s name, William only had a few more thrusts in him before he came as well, screaming, “Fuck, you’re so slutty, I fucking love it, _shit._ ”

When William’s orgasm had finished and he’d slowed his thrusts to a stop, he pulled out and rolled off him to lay next to Gabe on the floor as he was still catching his breath.

“You’re _really_ not gonna ask?” William confirmed. “About the basement?”

The full realization of what Gabe had said while he was too busy thinking about sex hit him. “Oh, right. I won’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Gabe said, reaching for William’s hand to hold it to further reassure him.

Gabe wouldn’t ask again; instead, he decided he’d find out himself what the hell was really down there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm looks like Gabe may or may not be going back into the basement next chapter, guess we'll see! Thank you for reading!
> 
> Also, my classes start next week, so if I'm ever late posting a chapter, please keep in mind I could be busy but I'll do my best to still post weekly!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Gabe to go in the basement... hmm wonder what he'll find down there. Also a somewhat longer chapter than last time I think, so yay! And there is Spanish at the end, so as always, there'll be a translation in the end notes lol. Enjoy the chapter!

“Brendon and I are gonna go out hunting now.” William leaned down to kiss Gabe’s cheek while he ate his breakfast. With Gabe’s current nerves, a meager piece of toast was all he could stomach. “We’ll only be gone for a few hours. Do you need anything while we’re out?”

“I think I’m good,” Gabe said, putting down the toast he’d been nibbling at. Considering he knew tonight would be his chance to look through the basement, it felt rather more like his anxiety was the one eating at him. “Be safe, alright?”

“Of course, Gabanti.” William pressed another kiss to the top of his head. “And when I get back, I’ll make sure I still have a little blood on my face just for you.”

“Great.” Gabe forced himself to smile. “Can’t wait.”

As soon as Gabe heard the sound of the car pulling out from the driveway and saw the headlights through the windows, he flung himself from his seat, abandoning his partially-gnawed toast. He hurried to the basement door and threw it open. His feet clattered on the stairs as he rushed to descend them, stopping at the landing three-fourths of the way down to grip the railing and deal with a brief moment of back pain before continuing to the basement.

Once Gabe had gotten down the stairs in the dimness, he reached up and found the string to tug for the lightbulb to come to life with a flicker, casting light around the basement. Now that William wasn’t down here with him, all the dark corners and shadows were all the more noticeable and intimidating. A coldness permeated the air, sending a shiver down his spine. Although the room had hardly changed, it was very apparent that there was something very wrong. Gabe walked across the basement to the metal door at the opposite end of the room and rattled the doorknob. It was still locked.

He tried to think where he could find a key to open the door. It was possible that William had taken the key with him, but knowing how prepared William always was, there had to be an extra somewhere.

Gabe went back upstairs. He searched through the garage and their bedroom before finally, in William’s office, he came across another thick keyring where it had been stuffed in a desk drawer alongside other objects such as handcuffs and pocket knives. It almost felt too easy, as if William must have been, foolishly but conveniently, much too confident Gabe had actually heeded him.

He made his way back down to the basement with the keyring clutched tightly in his hand, the cool metal bouncing against his fingers with every stair step. Once Gabe found himself standing in front of the metal door again, he knew he didn’t have any time to waste contemplating whether it was a good idea to be going behind William’s back like this. He immediately began to try out each key, shoving them one by one into the lock and twisting each of them more than twice just in case. On the fifth key Gabe tried, the lock turned with ease and clicked congratulatorily.

Gabe let the rest of the keyring hang as he rested his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath before he opened the door slowly with a low creak. The room was pitch black, little light seeping in from through the door.

“What is it _this_ time?” Pete’s rough voice demanded, causing Gabe to jump.

“ _Pete?_ ”

There was a silence until Pete gasped, “ _Gabe?_ ” There was a metallic rustle of chains as he sat up eagerly. “Is that really you?”

“Yeah. Is there a light?”

“To your right.”

The palm of Gabe’s hand brushed over the area wall until there was the familiar protrusion of a lightswitch. When he flicked it, the room was flooded with a much brighter and imposing light than the rest of the basement had, revealing Pete to him.

Pete was sitting against the wall, wrists bound by bulky metal chains that were tethered to the floor, causing the skin under to appear red and raw. A thick coating of dried blood framed his face, blood-stained and baggy-eyed and overgrown with facial hair. He was naked except for a battered and reddened pair of boxer briefs, showing all of the numerous bruises and cuts and bite marks that covered practically all of his body and face at various stages of healing. Hardly an inch of skin was left unaffected. A few broken bones stuck out on his mangled body, causing his skin to protrude thin and a white-ish, blue-ish tint at odd places such as in his foot, his lower arm, and a rib. He also _reeked_ of dried blood. The tangy iron smell filled the room, made obvious by how his hair was stuck together in hardened crimson clumps.

Gabe’s horrified eyes raked over Pete’s body as he was frozen, fingers still on the lightswitch. Pete’s empty eyes stared back at him.

“ _Dios mío,_ ” Gabe finally whispered under his breath. It took all his strength not to choke on the smell of blood that permeated his nostrils. “I can’t believe this… what happened?”

“Beckett happened.” Pete’s voice had lost its animated quality, leaving it sounding eerily flat, gritty, and dead. “I don’t know how long I’ve been here, I think since June. Your boyfriend and Brendon are the ones who did this to me.”

Gabe covered his mouth and nose with one of his hands, trying to block out the smell and his shocked expression. “No way,” he muttered. Even though he knew what William was capable of, Gabe was finally faced with the extremes and there was hardly a way to deny it since the evidence was right in front of him. “No way,” he repeated.

“You gotta help me get outta here!” Pete begged. Tears brimmed in his eyes. “You’re the only chance I have at escape. They’re gonna kill me eventually. I don’t know when, but until they do, they’re just gonna keep torturing me and torturing me and torturing me for shits and giggles. And then you gotta get out, too. _This_ is what William Beckett does.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Gabe cried, mumbled by his hand covering his mouth. “He… he did this?”

“He did,” Pete said. “I haven’t had anything to drink since before he took me. He’s been taunting me about making me drink from an actual human, and I’m so fucking thirsty that if I wasn’t tied up… if I wasn’t tied up… I’d probably _hurt_ you if you were in here long enough. William’s tied me up by my wrists with a rope to the ceiling and left me up there for hours while my own blood cascaded across my body, he’s poured salt in the wounds left by said rope, he and Brendon have beaten and punched and kicked and bitten me in every fucking way and place possible. You have to help me, _please,_ if you just get me out of here I swear I won’t tell anyone where this place is, I’ll go back to Chicago. I don’t want to die like this, at the hands of the person who made me a fucking _monster_ without a shred of fucking dignity!”

Gabe felt like he had no choice but to help him; after all, the state of Pete was dreadful enough on its own, like a still from a horror movie, without the sorrow that edged his voice. Gabe pitied Pete and even outrage aimed at William began to heat and prickle atop his skin.

However, there was the matter of what William would do if he found out Gabe had deliberately helped his plaything escape. Gabe was unsure if William would go so far as to hurt him, but now anything felt possible. Was it worth the risk of helping Pete if it meant Gabe could potentially put himself and even his daughter in danger?

“I want to,” Gabe finally said. “I _really_ want to. But William… he’s… he’s William.”

Pete seemed to have anticipated the answer, head hanging low. “Oh.”

“But… I’ll think about it,” Gabe promised. “This whole thing… it’s just not right at all, no matter how much I love William.”

“Thank you,” Pete said. “Really, thank you.”

“I’ll try to come back in here soon to let you know,” Gabe said. “Until then, just hang in there, okay?”

Pete nodded weakly. “Okay.”

Gabe felt like he’d just walked out of a haunted house, on edge and everything unreal as he locked the door again and went up the stairs to put William’s keys back in his office. He was haunted by the images of Pete’s misery, of all the words used to describe William’s methods of torture to tear Pete down again and again until he was ultimately a shell of himself.

After Gabe had put the keys back, he fell onto his bed, staring at the ceiling for an hour blankly. Even though his back started to hurt because he was laying on it and the baby was putting pressure on his spine, he remained still there. He couldn’t stop thinking, numb to everything else until he heard William come into the room and felt him climb over him. William’s face was decorated with a splatter of blood across his forehead, his lips still deep and crimson.

“I’m back,” William almost sang, leaning in. Before he could kiss him, Gabe reached up to his chest and pushed him away.

“Oh, _screw off!_ ” Gabe snapped.

“What is it?” William asked, hurt evident in his voice. He scrambled to sit up. “Is everything okay? Did I do something?”

Gabe ignored him and got up, walking out of the bedroom. He just wanted a bath.

Gabe was soaking in the bath he’d run for himself. He’d tried to make it as relaxing as possible by dimming the lights, lighting a few scented candles on the counter, and dropping a bath bomb into the water to turn it a light translucent shade of lavender. Even though he should have felt at peace, he didn’t. No matter how many times he closed his eyes and focused on the warmth of the water and the soft lilac scent of the candles, Pete remained in his head. Bloody and wretched Pete, reeking of iron. He _had_ to help him, but he had no idea how.

A knock on the bathroom door brought Gabe out of his thoughts. “ _What?_ ” he growled, obviously still pissed.

“Can I come in?” William asked. Even though he had no idea what he had done to anger Gabe, his voice was still apologetic.

Gabe exhaled a sharp breath and laid his head back against the tiled wall behind him. “Sure.” He twisted around in the bathtub to reach up for the doorknob and unlock it.

William opened the door slowly and gently shut it behind him. He sat down on the floor and rested his arms on the side of the bathtub. Since Gabe’s freakout at him, he’d cleaned all traces of blood off his face and put on a fresh set of clothing. “Gabanti, is everything okay? Is it about your mom visiting in a few days? Because if it is, I can--”

“No,” Gabe shook his head lightly. “It’s something else. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“It’s okay, I get it. Pregnancy hormones and everything, right?”

“Yeah. Just an overreaction. Sorry. I knew you were probably looking forward to fucking me when you got home.”

“No, it’s okay, really,” William said. He gently rubbed Gabe’s wet shoulder. “I really don’t mind. What is it that’s bothering you? I hate to see you like this.”

The understanding in William’s voice almost made Pete forgettable to Gabe, as if he had completely dreamed going into the basement. And even though Gabe was absolutely sure he hadn’t dreamed all the distinct gorey details, he wanted to believe William was really more than what he’d seen, that it wasn’t an unforgivable flaw. “It’s nothing, really. I guess I was just in a pissy mood when you got home.”

William nodded sympathetically. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll try not to let it happen again, I’m sorry.”

William uncrossed his legs and got on his knees, leaning over the edge of the bathtub to press a kiss on Gabe’s cheek. “Don’t worry about it, ‘kay? I’m just glad there wasn’t anything actual bothering you.”

“Yep,” Gabe said. “Nothing actual.”

When Gabe’s mom visited, since she had been insistent on wanting to know what conditions her son was living in, neither Gabe or William expected her to be showing up with Diego. The friendly smile on Gabe’s face dropped as he stood on the porch and saw his father’s car pull into the driveway behind Jeanette’s. When he got out of the car, he paused before closing the car door, overwhelmed he was finally able to see his son for the first time in months.

“You brought _him?_ ” Gabe demanded. Gabe seemed scared, mostly concerned about William’s reaction as he kept glancing over at him and tried to gauge his feelings about the surprise visitor, but William’s emotions were undecipherable. He turned back to his mother. “Mame, what the hell?! When I told you my address, I trusted you, how could you--”

“Mijo, no te preocupes,” Diego assured him. Tears welled in his eyes. “We haven’t called the police, we haven’t told anyone about this. All I care about is knowing you’re safe.”

William, who was standing by Gabe’s side on the porch, kept his neutral expression and turned to Jeanette, who was standing by the stairs of the porch. “You still shouldn’t have told him.”

“And you wouldn’t be just as worried about your own daughter if she went missing for months?”

William’s eyes narrowed at her; he hardly considered it to be a fair comparison. However, he decided to let it slide for now since they claimed they hadn’t alerted law enforcement, or at least not yet; he would never reveal it, but it was a secret fear William still held. “Come inside,” he said cooly, but he didn’t step aside or smile. “I’m sure Gabe would be more than happy to give you a tour of the house. I would love to show you around, but…” His eyes landed on Diego, who was glaring right back at him. “Unfortunately, I have business to attend to.”

William smoothly spun on his heel and disappeared through the door, leaving Gabe alone outside with his parents. There was an awkward silence until Gabe broke it and said, “So… want to go inside? Do you guys want some water or a snack or something?”

Instead of saying anything, Diego walked over and threw his arms around Gabe. The tight hug was comforting and warm, giving Gabe a warm, homey feeling he realized he hadn’t felt in a while. After a minute of this, Diego pulled back and asked, “Mijo, ¿estás bien? ¿William te trata bien?”

“Sí, sí,” Gabe reassured him, but Diego’s concern didn’t let up. He still didn’t believe him, and it probably didn’t help that Pete still occupied Gabe’s mind.

“Pues,” Jeanette interrupted. “Tengo regalos en el maletero.”

“¿Trajiste regalos?” Gabe asked. “¿Para qué?”

“Tú y la bebé,” Jeanette answered. Before Gabe could protest, she interrupted, “Sé que no es la tradición y la bebé no ha nacido todavía, pero necesitamos que correr el riesgo si no puedes tener un baby shower después del parto como me dijiste.”

“Mame, estás siendo ridícula. ¡William puede comprar todo, él tiene el dinero!”

“¡No puedes depender de William para todo!” Jeanette snapped. “Si esto sale mal, no puedes estar ligado a él financieramente. Necesitas algo que no él puede tomar de tí, algo que no es de él. Necesitas que poseer las cobijas, la ropa, todo para el bebé. Tienes que estar preparado a empacar tu mierda y salir.”

“Estás haciendo algo importante de nada,” Gabe said.

“Estoy de acuerdo con tu madre,” Diego said. He reached in his pocket and took out a brand new cellphone that he held out to Gabe. “Tienes que pensar en las posibilidades. Toma esto celular y lo esconde. Nuestros números son en él además de los números de Ricky y Ilana. Por favor, _tómalo._ ”

Gabe hesitated but took the cellphone and placed it hidden in his pocket. Normally, he would have refused the phone and the baby gifts, but knowing what was happening to Pete had probably forever changed the way Gabe saw William. Hell, when William said he had ‘business’, who knew if he was secretly referring to abusing Pete again. “Gracias. Puedo llamar Brendon a ayudar con llevando los regalos adentro, si quieren.”

Jeanette said, “Sí,” at the same time as Diego said, “No.”

Gabe opened the door anyway and called inside, “Brendon, could you help us bring some stuff inside if you’re not busy?”

“Sure!” Brendon eagerly called out, hurrying down the stairs and to the porch. He greeted both Diego and Jeanette with a smile and held out his hand for them to shake. “You must be Gabe’s parents! Hi, I’m Brendon. I’m a friend of William’s. It’s great to meet you.”

Jeanette willingly shook his hand and introduced herself to Brendon while Diego was more hesitant. As Brendon was carrying a few plastic bags of baby clothes inside, Jeanette remarked, “¡Qué un caballero! ¿Es Brendon judío? Deberías haber salido con él en lugar de tu novio.”

“Es un _vampiro_ también, ¡es solo tan malo!” Diego retorted.

Gabe already knew it was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:  
> Instead of saying anything, Diego walked over and threw his arms around Gabe. The tight hug was comforting and warm, giving Gabe a warm, homey feeling he realized he hadn’t felt in a while. After a minute of this, Diego pulled back and asked, “Mijo, are you okay? William is treating you well?”
> 
> “Yeah, yeah,” Gabe reassured him, but Diego’s concern didn’t let up. He still didn’t believe him, and it probably didn’t help that Pete still occupied Gabe’s mind.
> 
> “Well,” Jeanette interrupted. “I have gifts in the trunk.”
> 
> “You brought gifts?” Gabe asked. “For what?”
> 
> “You and the baby,” Jeanette answered. Before Gabe could protest, she interrupted, “I know it's not tradition and the baby hasn't been born yet, but we need to take the risk if you can't have a baby shower after what you told me.”
> 
> “Mame, you're being ridiculous. William can be me everything, he has the money!”
> 
> “You can't depend on William for everything!” Jeanette snapped. “If things go south, you can't be tied to him financially. You need something that he can't take from you, something that isn't his. You need to own the blankets, the clothing, everything for the baby. You have to be prepared to pack your shit and go.”
> 
> “You're making a big deal out of nothing,” Gabe said.
> 
> “I agree with your mother,” Diego said. He reached in his pocket and took out a brand new cellphone that he held out to Gabe. “You have to think about the possibilities. Take this cellphone y hide it. Our numbers are on it as well as Ricky's and Ilana's. Please, _take it._ ”
> 
> Gabe hesitated but took the cellphone and placed it hidden in his pocket. Normally, he would have refused the phone and the baby gifts, but knowing what was happening to Pete had probably forever changed the way Gabe saw William. Hell, when William said he had ‘business’, who knew if he was secretly referring to abusing Pete again. “Gracias. I can call Brendon to help bring the gifts inside, if you want.”
> 
> Jeanette said, “Yes,” at the same time as Diego said, “No.”
> 
> Gabe opened the door anyway and called inside, “Brendon, could you help us bring some stuff inside if you’re not busy?”
> 
> “Sure!” Brendon eagerly called out, hurrying down the stairs and to the porch. He greeted both Diego and Jeanette with a smile and held out his hand for them to shake. “You must be Gabe’s parents! Hi, I’m Brendon. I’m a friend of William’s. It’s great to meet you.”
> 
> Jeanette willingly shook his hand and introduced herself to Brendon while Diego was more hesitant. As Brendon was carrying a few plastic bags of baby clothes inside, Jeanette remarked, “What a gentle! Is Brendon Jewish? You should have dated him instead of your boyfriend.”
> 
> “He's a _vampire_ too, he's just as bad!” Diego retorted.
> 
> Gabe already knew it was going to be a long night.
> 
> \-----------------------
> 
> Well, Gabe finally found Pete. Guess we'll just have to see how that all pans out next chapter, especially with his parents visiting ;)


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyyy new chapter, this one's got a bit of drama ;) And uh there is a little bit of Spanish, but it's pretty much just a sprinkling of phrases here and there, so I'm not putting translations right now because either you can probably infer from context or it's not super important. If you do want translations for certain phrases though, tell me and I'll be happy to add them in the end notes :) I'm kinda starting to regret writing so much dialogue in Spanish but at least it's helping me keep the language fresh lol? Anyways sorry. Enjoy the chapter!

Diego and Jeanette stayed later than Gabe thought they would, insisting on setting up all the baby furniture and organizing everything they’d bought in one of the spare rooms. It mostly consisted of Gabe repeatedly trying to tell them he or William or Brendon could do it themselves, but his parents would deny his help and start arguing about where a nail went in the crib a few minutes later. Then Gabe would have to step in and insist one of them to take a five minute break before their argument escalated and they took out all the emotional baggage of the divorce or knowing their son was dating a vampire on each other.

Yeah, it was fun.

“How’s things going?” Brendon asked Gabe, standing beside him in the hall. Gabe had been watching through the door as his parents folded baby clothes and argued whether they should be washed before being put away. Brendon had a glass of wine he was sipping on, which made Gabe slightly envious. The not-being-allowed-to-drink-while-pregnant thing was really getting to him, especially tonight.

“It’s going _great,_ ” Gabe sarcastically said. “I’m sure you’ve heard some heated Spanish snippets of the couple times they’ve started raising their voices at each other. Just like the good old days.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I can’t understand any of it.” Brendon took a sip of his wine. “I can take over with putting everything away, if you want. It’s not like I have much else to do.”

“I’ve tried telling them we can do all the nursery setting up, but they won’t listen.”

Just then, Jeanette called out from the room, “Gabriel, ¿debemos rasgar las etiquetas de la ropa?”

“No debemos,” Diego disagreed. “¿Y si la ropa es muy pequeño para la bebé?”

Gabe sighed and called back, “Sólo rasguen las etiquetas.” Then he turned back to Brendon, “I’m gonna go get some air. If you think they’re about to start arguing again about deep shit, I don’t know, just distract them with some fucking crackers or cookies or something because they’ll be too polite to fight in front of you.”

“Got it.” Brendon gave him a thumbs-up.

Gabe went outside to the porch, watching the creek from there for a minute before deciding to step closer to the water. The forest around the house was entirely silent except for the rush of the water and a rustling of probably what were chipmunks in nearby bushes. The semblance of peace afforded him a chance to calm down and think about the Pete situation some more. Gabe hadn’t seen him since the first time he’d ventured into the basement, but he had no doubts by how much time William had been spending down there that Pete had to be worse off now than before. Gabe knew he _had_ to help Pete, but he was unsure whether he’d be able to betray William like that, even if it meant--

A hand was slapped over Gabe’s mouth and the cold metal of a knife raised to his throat as someone else grabbed his wrists and restrained him by twisting them behind his back. Panic filled Gabe’s veins as he realized what was happening.

“Calm down, we just wanna talk,” one of the kidnappers said. “You’re gonna come with us so we can talk in the forest, and you’re not gonna scream for your pretty little vampire boyfriend, got it?”

Gabe didn’t have any other choice, so he made an affirming mumble from under the hand that was covering his mouth. The knife was slowly lifted away from his throat so he could be led into the dark forest and away from the house. Gabe only had the desperate hope that Brendon would come outside to check on him before the situation escalated, although considering how exhausting Gabe’s parents could be, it didn’t seem likely.

“I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth now,” the other kidnapper said as soon as they were what they deemed a good enough distance from the house. “If you scream, we slit your throat. We don’t fucking care whether you’re pregnant with that fucking monster’s baby or not, got it?”

Gabe nodded, eyes wide with fear, and the man slowly drew his hand away from his mouth. He stepped in front of Gabe, knife held out and ready as the other person still held Gabe’s hands restrained behind his back.

“Where’s _Pete?_ ” the man in front of him demanded. “What the hell did Beckett do to him?” Gabe could barely make out the shape of his thick, curly hair in the dark; he guessed it was probably the one hunter roommate Pete had mentioned was also Jewish.

“Pete’s in the house,” Gabe admitted, voice trembling. “William has him in the basement.”

“We’re here to get Pete back,” Pete’s roommate said. “You’re gonna bring us Pete or we fucking _kill_ Beckett.“ His knife glinted in the moonlight as he stepped forward to hold it to Gabe’s throat. “Okay?”

“Okay!” Gabe quickly agreed. He shuddered at the proximity of the knife to him, knowing Pete’s roommate could probably kill him with one fell swoop. “I’ll bring you Pete. I can bring him out while William’s hunting tomorrow night. But please, just leave us alone after that, _please._ ”

“We will,” the other, the one restraining Gabe’s arms, said.

“So it’s a deal?”

“Deal,” Gabe said.

“Good.” Gabe’s hands were released and the knife fell from his throat. Pete’s roommates began to step away, about to leave, but right before turning around, the Jewish one stopped and made a slashing motion with his finger at his throat as he threatened darkly, “Remember what’ll happen if you don’t, to William _and_ you.”

Gabe stumbled back into the house. He’d just had a _knife_ held to his _throat;_ he honestly thought he’d die. Instead of going back upstairs and freeing Brendon from dealing with his parents, he curled up on the couch in the living room and wrapped his arms around his stomach protectively as his baby girl kicked. He wondered whether he should tell Pete about how his own roommates threatened to kill Gabe and his baby; if that was how vampire hunters usually acted to supposedly innocent people, Gabe was more than happy to stick with William for a _long_ time. Except Gabe knew they thought everything so far was all his fault, but he still felt like threatening to slit his throat wasn’t justified. Hadn’t Pete at least _tried_ to make out Gabe to be the victim to them?

While lost in his thoughts, he relived the altercation over and over, his mind diverging into everything that could have possibly happened. While caught in an image of how it would’ve looked for the knife to have sliced through him, for blood to spray out his neck like a fountain, Gabe hardly noticed his father sitting down on the edge of the couch. “Mijo, ¿estás enfermo?”

“Estoy bien, no te preocupes,” Gabe said, mumbling into the pillow that his face pressed against and hugging his stomach tighter. He was shivering, his breath uneven as the terror he’d felt kept building and building up. Suddenly, he felt a strong tightening sensation in his stomach that only freaked him out even more, causing him to grab the pillow and cry out, “ _Dios,_ what the fuck?”

“Gabriel, ¿qué pasa?”

The tightening feeling lingered uncomfortably. Gabe was suddenly very grateful his dad was a doctor. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, I think that was a contraction!”

“A contraction?” Diego asked, alarmed. “¿Qué se siente?”

“Tight?” Gabe groaned unhelpfully. “I don’t fucking know, como una contracción?”

“Brendon, get William _now!_ ” Diego called out, then he quickly turned back to Gabe. “Intenta sentarte, es probablemente Braxton-Hicks.” He helped Gabe sit up in hopes it would cause the false contractions to subside. “Pasa, pero es tan temprano. Pasa usualmente durante el tercer trimestre.”

“Well, it’s fucking happening anyway,” Gabe said, leaning against the back and trying to put up with it. He had no doubt it was caused by the sheer panic he’d felt from just thinking about the knife at his throat, but it wasn’t like he could tell anyone his life had just been threatened.

William landed another punch at Pete’s jaw, giggling at the sickening crack and the drops of blood that flew onto his face. A tooth skidded across the floor. Pete whimpered, tongue feeling the odd gap in his teeth where salty blood filled it.

“You have enough yet, you fucking bitch?” William hissed. He reached out to snatch Pete by the hair so he could throw him at the wall, but the door was flung open by Brendon before he could. William sighed; he hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet. “ _What,_ Brendon?”

“William, you gotta get upstairs now!” Brendon’s voice had a sense of urgency. “I think Gabe’s having contractions?”

William froze and his arms dropped to his side. He spun around to face Brendon. “No fucking shit, _really?_ You’ve got to be kidding, he’s only--!”

I’ll take it from here,” Brendon walked in and rubbed a few specks of blood off of William’s cheek with his thumb. “You look fine, don’t worry about cleaning up.”

“Good.” William dug in his pocket and threw his keys to Brendon. “Remember to lock up when you’re done.”

William hurried out of the basement and upstairs, running into the living room once he heard the commotion coming from that direction. Gabe was sitting on the couch, accompanied by his parents as he was slowly starting to relax as the contraction faded. “Gabe, are you okay? What’s going on? Are you going into labor?”

“Mm, I’m fine, Bilvy, don’t worry.”

“It’s Braxton-Hicks,” Diego explained. “They’re not real contractions. He’ll be okay.”

“Oh, good, Brendon had me freaked out for a second there.” William sighed in relief and took Gabe’s hand, leaning over the couch to press a kiss to his forehead. “Are you feeling better? Is there anything I can get you?”

“I’m fine.” Gabe’s grip on William’s fingers was tight, begging him to not let go as he recovered. “I’m good, really. It’s normal.”

“Actually,” Diego interjected, “Gabe didn’t seem normal before the contraction. He seemed stressed.”

“Stressed?” William asked, eyes widening. He looked back down at Gabe. “Stressed about what?”

“Probably stressed about _these_ kinds of conditions,” Jeanette said. “How could he _not_ be stressed when he’s living with a vampire?”

“Mame, it’s not that,” Gabe tried to tell her, but it was too late.

“You better be treating my son right,” Jeanette threatened, standing up and glaring at William confrontationally. “If I find out you’ve ever so much as ever raised a hand to him, I’ll--”

“Mame, ¡ya basta!” Gabe ordered. He sat up, ready to defend William if he had to, but William placed a hand on his shoulder.

“ _These_ kinds of conditions? I don't know what the hell you’re talking about.” William scowled. He raised his arms, motioning around the room. “I don’t see what could be causing him stress. He lives in a spacious eight-bedroom house in the middle of the mountains. I’ve never hurt Gabe and I _never_ will: I treat him like a _king._ If anything, the stress must be from the fact you contacted his father without his permission and showed up with him unannounced. No offense, Diego, I’m sure you’re a lovely man, although you should have _seen_ how Gabe cried when you told him you thought he put all of you in danger by bringing me to your home when I tried so hard to be friendly. All he wanted was for all you to get to know me and you forced your family to shun him the moment you found out I’m a vampire.”

“William, that’s _enough,_ ” Gabe growled. “Can we all just shut up, please? Now’s really not the time.” Unfortunately, he was still ignored.

“I can see exactly what I mean,” Diego snapped at William. “Of course he’d be stressed when you’re always manipulating him and everyone else like this! You don’t ever listen to us, you don’t care about Gabe, you just care about yourself!”

William looked _pissed._ never understand. Where the hell is the fucking cellphone?”

Gabe could feel William’s words sinking into him. “By the bed.”

William got up silently and walked out of the living room, making a beeline to smash the cellphone. Once he had smashed the cellphone in his hand, crumpling it with shards of broken glass and sharp metal digging into his skin, William felt no regret; only relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn that was quite a ride. Gabe had a knife held to his throat, had a contraction, and had his cellphone smashed all in the span of one chapter. This poor dude. Thank you for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

Gabe pretended not to be hurt that William had destroyed what he thought was Gabe’s only form of communication with his parents. He had bigger fish to fry, like making sure William and Brendon would leave to hunt so he’d have the opportunity to help Pete escape. Gabe hadn’t had the chance to see Pete since he’d discovered him, so the fact he’d get to flee so soon would probably come as the first non-horrific surprise he’d had in a while.

“So…” Gabe spoke up while he was watching William get dressed for the night. “Are you and Brendon going hunting tonight?”

“I don’t think so.” William shook his head as he buttoned his shirt in the bedroom mirror. “It wouldn’t be the best idea.”

“Is it because of yesterday?” Gabe asked. He crossed his legs and leaned back on the bed, feigning a sense of worry. “I’ll be fine, you and Brendon haven’t gotten something to drink in a few days.”

“I know.” William finished buttoning his shirt and smoothed it out, eyesight switching to Gabe’s reflection in the mirror. “I just want to be here in case you start having contractions again.”

“If I do, Bilvy, it’ll be fine. It wasn’t even that bad.”

“Well--” William stopped himself before he could bring up something that would imply Gabe was a fragile human and so of course he’d be worried about him, which he knew would only probably piss him off. “It _looked_ bad,” he said instead.

“It was the first one, I know what to expect now. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll probably be taking a nap the entire time you’re gone if you do go out.”

William turned around from the mirror and sat close to Gabe, entangling his fingers with his. “You’re sure you’re okay if Brendon and I go out?”

“Of course, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“If you insist,” William said. He momentarily kissed Gabe’s cheek, then rested his nose against his skin. “We’ll be quick. And I’ll make sure to get lots of blood on me, just for you.”

“Can’t wait.” Gabe turned his head slightly to kiss him for a minute. The entire time, as William’s tongue flicked at his top lip, Gabe only could feel the anxiety building up inside his veins, wondering if he’d be successful. He had to be successful; otherwise, he and William were as good as dead.

Pete was startled from sleep by the jingle of the key in the lock as the door opened. As he recalled what form of torture Brendon had been raving about using on him, Pete shrank back against the wall. He was _not_ in the mood to have his hand lit on fire tonight.

“Pete, it’s me.” Pete sighed in relief and relaxed once he recognized Gabe’s voice, seeing him and only him once light flooded the room.

“I am _so_ glad it’s you,” Pete breathed out. “Any updates?”

“Yeah, the update is that you’re getting out of here.” Gabe knelt down beside him and began to fumble with the thick, metal chains wrapped around Pete’s wrists. “Your roommates came by and didn’t give me much of a choice.”

“Joe and Andy?” Pete lit up with a grin as he sat up straighter. “No way! They came back for me?”

“Yeah.” Gabe managed to unfurl and unknot the chains, tugging them away and freeing him. Pete groaned as he lifted his wrists away from the metal. His arms were ethereal without the burden, like he could float away if he tried hard enough. “Are you able to stand up?”

“Think so.” Gripping the wall for support, Pete slowly started to lift himself up. It had been a long time since he stood because of the chains’ heavy weight on him. He could barely support himself, wobbling as he straightened his legs, and he had to grab Gabe’s shoulder. “I might need your help.”

“That’s fine.” Gabe grabbed onto his arm, gentle so as not to irritate any of his wounds, and held him up. “Let’s go.”

With Gabe being heavily pregnant and Pete being heavily injured, they walked slowly through the basement to the staircase. Pete’s strength seemed to bounce back quickly as he got used to walking again. He was able to climb the stairs on his own while leaning on the railing, which was a relief since Gabe already felt nervous enough going up the stairs while pregnant without Pete latching onto him.

Once Pete had stumbled off the stairs and entered the hallway, he stood there and looked around. It was strange to see the pristine white walls and orderly pictures and paintings on them, compared to the filth and rotting dried blood he’d been subjected to just a floor below. Pete hadn’t even been allowed to have a shower while William got to live like _this._ It infuriated him, causing his blood to run hot.

“Your roommates are outside,” Gabe said, taking a step back in the hall and expecting Pete to follow him. Instead, Pete ignored him and studied the wall. Of the many pictures on the wall, there was an old family photo featuring a high school-age William Beckett, smiling and containing long-lost innocence in his eyes. Pete’s stomach twisted in on itself as he narrowed his eyes at the picture. “Pete, are you coming?”

“That fucker,” Pete growled under his breath, staring at the picture. He snatched it off the wall and threw it to the ground with all the force he could, causing the frame to splinter and glass shards to scatter across the floor.

“Pete!” Gabe scolded. He knew William had mentioned once the picture was one of the few he still had of his family after the rest were destroyed in the police raid. The picture itself was still fine, but William probably wouldn’t be too happy about the broken frame. “You can’t just do that!” Gabe grabbed Pete’s arm and dragged him away before he could do anything more. “Come on, don’t you want to see your friends?”

At first, Pete complied and went with him, but before Gabe could open the door, Pete halted and his eyes widened with paranoia. “Wait, what if this is a _trap?”_

Gabe sighed and started to unlock the door. “Pete, you’re being ridiculous, come on.”

“What if William and Brendon are behind that door?” Pete demanded. As he took a step back, he nearly fell backward but managed to catch himself, digging his nails into the wall behind him. “What if this is an excuse for them to _kill_ me? Are you in on this, too?!”

“Pete, William and Brendon are out hunting. They’re not here. Your roommates are right outside, we’ve got to hurry before William gets back. You know I wouldn’t do something like this to you.”

“How do I know that? You could be bringing me to my death! That’s what you did to Patrick, you brought him out to _die_ at William’s hands!” Pete accused, pointing his finger at Gabe. “Don’t you dare fucking open that d--”

Gabe opened the door anyway and swung it wide open, allowing Pete to see the empty front porch and silent, still forest surrounding them. “See? It’s fine.”

Pete stuck his head out of the door, only relaxing his stance when he’d thoroughly studied the scenery and confirmed he really was safe. “Oh. You’re right. Sorry, I don’t know what came over me there. Maybe it’s the thirst.”

“It’s fine.” Gabe had to give him a break; after all, Pete had just been tortured and locked in a basement for a month. “Let’s go meet your roommates.”

Joe and Andy had hid themselves in the trees by the driveway, running out as soon as they saw Pete. Gabe watched the joyful reunion from a distance, seeing them all laughing with unspeakable joy as they hugged each other tight, not caring whether they got Pete’s blood or stench on themselves. After the hug, Joe and Andy expressed their concern upon noticing how bad Pete really looked, but there was no time for them to worry. They had to get back to their car parked a distance away before William returned.

As Pete began to trudge away into the forest behind Joe and Andy, he stopped momentarily, turning around to wave at Gabe. “Thank you so much, man! I’ll be back for you, I swear.”

Gabe did _not_ want him to be back for him, but judging by Joe and Andy’s skeptical eyebrow raise at that, they’d dissuade Pete eventually. Gabe just waved back with a strained smile. As soon as they had disappeared into the darkness, Gabe hurried back inside. He put the keys back into William’s office, washed Pete’s blood and dirt off his hands, and laid in bed so it’d look like he’d been napping as promised, completely unawares while Pete was making a break for it.

It took a few minutes for Gabe’s heartbeat to steady, still frightened of what William’s inevitable reaction would be upon finding out Pete was gone, but he eventually managed to drift off into sleep.

“Alright if I go downstairs and mess around with Pete for a bit?” Brendon asked, shutting the back door behind William as he walked in.

“Yeah, go ahead,” William said. He glanced at himself in a mirror that hung in the entryway next to the kitchen, making sure his face was neither not enough nor too bloody for Gabe. He dabbed at a stray speck of blood that had landed on his eyelid earlier, trying to rub it off. “You were saying you were going to light his hand on fire, right?”

“Yeah. That still okay?”

“As long as it doesn’t spread to the rest of his body. And don’t burn his hand too much. I’m not up to amputation right now, although that could be an idea for the future. And bring a fire extinguisher, I’m pretty sure there’s one in the kitchen.”

“Awesome!” Brendon dashed away, a childlike excitement in his step.

Once William had finished checking his reflection in the mirror, he made his way upstairs to the bedroom where he came across Gabe in a peaceful slumber. He was laying on his side, one leg hanging off the bed and his face gentle. William almost didn’t want to wake him, but he was also in the mood for a handjob, so he sat down on the bed and gently placed a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Gabanti, I’m back. You still in the mood?”

Gabe groaned and opened his eyes, smiling once he saw William and the blood covering his face. “Mm, sure,” he mumbled, tugging at William’s shoulder so he would bend down to kiss him. It was easy for Gabe to stay calm; he could convince himself he dreamed up the entire Pete situation since it was still so hazy and vague in his memory.

William deepened the kiss, sliding his hand from Gabe’s shoulder to the waistband of the sweatpants he’d fallen asleep in. As his finger hooked around the fabric and his knee was moving to press between Gabe’s legs, the door to the bedroom ricocheted off the wall with a _slam!_ as Brendon threw it open. “He’s gone!”

William sat up with a start. “What the hell do you mean, he’s gone?”

“Who’s gone?” Gabe asked, pretending confusion. His question was ignored, which he took as a good sign.

“Come see!” Brendon told William.

William turned back to Gabe and ordered, “Stay here,” before he ran out of the room after Brendon. He followed him down the stairs and into the hallway. As they rushed through, William noticed the glass shards crunching under his shoes and looked down to see the picture frame of him and his family that had been broken on the ground. “Damn it.” William leaned over and carefully picked up the frame with two hands. “I can’t fucking believe him. That bastard got _cocky_ just because he escaped, huh?”

“I don’t even know how he did it,” Brendon said, motioning through the doorway to the basement. “Go down and look for yourself.” With the picture still in his hand, William descended the stairs with him as Brendon explained, “Somehow he must have undone the chains, I have no idea how they were loose enough though, maybe we forgot to tighten them after throwing him around and stuff? And the door’s just flung open perfectly fine, there’s no dents or broken hinges or anything, but I swear I remembered to lock it last night!”

William stepped off the stairs and saw Brendon was right. The open metal door looked completely normal and the chains lay in a heap on the floor.

“You must have left it unlocked and he saw his chance,” William said, kicking at the pile of chains with his foot. “There’s no other way he could have gotten out. He must have done it while Gabe was sleeping. He could be anywhere by now.”

“He couldn’t have gotten far.” Brendon was jumpy, itching to go search and ready to run out. “I’ll go out and look for him, it’s all my fault.”

“No, you don’t have to.” William kicked at the pile of chains, harder this time. He didn’t look up the broken picture frame he held in his hands. “Pete’s a tricky bastard. He’s gone by now. We should have killed him sooner. But there’s no way he’ll be able to survive the journey home on foot; he _has_ to be killed by sunlight or hunters before he even gets to Illinois, right? He’s so vulnerable on his own, especially after everything we did to him.”

“Right,” Brendon agreed. “He won’t make it, especially if… especially if I hardly did.”

“Exactly.” William again kicked at the pile of chains, flinging his foot at them with enough force they clattered across the floor. He burst out laughing hysterically. “Damn it, I’m just so fucking _pissed_ and Pete’s not even here for me to beat up because he’s fucking gone!” William pounded the wall with his fist, head thrown back as he chuckled, “I’m so! Fucking! _Pissed!”_

“I’m sorry,” Brendon apologized quickly. “I’m really sorry, it’s my fault. I should have remembered to lock the door.”

William’s laughter died down and he sighed, finally looking at Brendon. “It’s fine. It’s _fine,”_ he reassured, although it sounded more to soothe himself rather than Brendon. “Don’t worry about it, Brendon, okay? Maybe we do need to start turning people sooner than I thought, we can’t let this happen again.”

“Really?” Brendon’s tone was ecstatic at hearing that, but he remembered, “Didn’t you say we should wait, though? For Gabe’s safety and stuff?”

“Imagine what could have happened to Gabe if Pete had decided to hurt him. The thought must have at _least_ crossed his mind, he hasn’t drank in weeks.” William speed-walked out of the room, past Brendon and to the staircase. “The pros outweigh the cons. We need more protection. If we’re the only two Dandies, we’re hopeless. We have to start over sooner rather than later.”

Brendon followed William up the stairs as he wickedly grinned. “You mean it?”

“I mean it,” William said, but then he stopped midway up the stairs and turned around. “But not right away. You have to wait for my okay on it.”

“Got it.” As they started to hurry up the stairs again, Brendon had a spring in his step.

“You don’t understand, we have to go back for him at some point!” Pete insisted. After a fast shower and fresh change of clothes, he was now watching as Joe and Andy hurried to pack up their belongings in their hurry to leave the motel room as soon as possible. They had no doubts William would be after them as soon as he discovered Pete was gone. “Gabe saved my life!”

“And it’s his damn fault we’re here in _New York_ rescuing you!” Andy said, struggling to zip his suitcase. He leaned over the suitcase and pressed his elbow down on the unfolded lump of clothing, finally allowing it to close it smoothly. “You’ve got to forget about Gabe, okay? This weird obsession you have with him is _done._ He’s one of them now.”

“Yeah, no way are we coming back here.” Joe handed a backpack to Pete. “Chicago needs us way more. He’s a lost cause, dude.”

“Oh, come on!” Pete put on the backpack and followed Andy and Joe as they hurried out of the motel room, shoving the door shut with a slam. They jogged to where their car was parked nearby and threw themselves inside. “He’s not even a vampire yet! Gabe can be saved, we just gotta kill William or at least get Gabe the hell away from him before he gives birth, because as soon as the coast is clear William’s gonna see his chance and fuckin’ _go_ for it.”

“Let’s talk about this later,” Andy said as he started the car. He didn’t bother to check behind him or put on his turn signal as he backed out of the parking space and sped away.

“We’re just glad you’re alive right now,” Joe added. “Very glad you’re alive. Can’t we just bask in that and celebrate when we get home and _then_ we can talk about this?”

“The whole reason we became hunters was to kill Beckett and protect people, including Gabe!”

“I said we’ll talk about it when we get home, okay?”

Pete weakly kicked the seat in front of him. “You’re not listening to me.”

“Look, after whatever you went through with Beckett, we get it. We hate him too, but we need to be smart about this. We need a plan and we need more hunters if we even want to have a hope of getting rid of him. But right now we just gotta be glad you’re here with us.”

Pete defeatedly crossed his arms and leaned back in the car seat. It was much comfier than the cement floor that had been crusted with his blood he’d sleep against for weeks. “Sure,” he mumbled, falling asleep as he was hypnotized by the passing streetlights through the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pete's escaped!! Is he gone for good or will he be back? Well, this is Pete we're talking about... so you guys can take a few guesses. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Labor Day to those of you who live in the US, here's another chapter of my fucked-up mpreg fanfic to celebrate. More morally-gray William, yayyyyy!

“What’s going on?” Gabe asked, sitting up once William walked back into the bedroom. William was quiet at first, putting down the broken picture frame on the dresser before he sat down on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees, anxiously digging a hand through his hair. Gabe moved to sit next to William. “Are you okay?”

“What the _hell_ do you think?” William snapped, and then quickly apologized, “Sorry.” He took his hand from his hair and rested his head on Gabe’s shoulder. “It’s just… _ugh,_ I don’t even know how to explain it.”

“Could you try to?” Gabe tentatively requested. “You’re kinda freaking me out. What did Brendon mean when he said ‘he’s gone?’ Who’s gone?”

“I shouldn’t go into detail.” William lifted his head off Gabe’s shoulder and turned to him. “Did you hear or see anything while I was gone?”

Gabe pretended to think for a second and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I was asleep the whole time. Why? What happened?”

William silenced his questioning with a kiss. “I’ll explain later, okay?” he murmured against Gabe’s lips. William leaned into him ever so slightly, slowly pushing him down to the bed as his hands found his waist. “Let’s just finish what we started before we were interrupted.”

“Will that make you feel better?” Gabe thought the sooner William forgot about Pete’s disappearance, the better.

“Oh, it would make me feel so much better.” William pushed Gabe down all the way to the bed and climbed over his legs. He kissed him hard and quickly, sweeping his tongue over Gabe’s lips while he reached with his hand to push down Gabe’s sweatpants. With the rush he did it in, he either seemed eager to continue or in a hurry to finish. It felt like hardly a minute had gone by when William was already prying himself from the kiss and moving to lower his mouth to Gabe’s cock.

“Don’t you think--” Gabe was cut off by his own moan as William didn’t hesitate to take him into his mouth. “--this is a bit fast?”

William lifted his mouth from him momentarily to hiss, “Why don’t you shut up and _enjoy_ it, you fucking slut?”

“Are you _sure_ you really want to do this?”

William’s grip on his thighs tightened, making Gabe suck in a breath as nails dug into his skin sharp enough to draw blood. “Of course I do.” He licked a stripe up Gabe’s cock, eliciting a shudder. “Now fuck off and let me suck your dick.”

“You’re acting like this is a chore.” Gabe propped himself up on his elbows to look William in the eyes. “If you have something more important to do, then go do it!”

“That’s not it!” William sat up. “I swear, I really do want to do this, it’s just that--”

“You’re distracted by whatever the hell is going on that you won’t even tell me about. Are you trying to distract yourself, or are you trying to distract _me?”_

William’s hands shot out, pinning Gabe by his shoulders back down to the bed. “Does it matter?” he whispered, an inch away from Gabe’s face. His eyes were cold as he glared down at him. “I fucking _own_ you.”

As William’s lips met Gabe’s, grabbing his chin to tilt his head up so he could kiss him roughly, the statement echoed in Gabe’s mind. _I fucking own you._ Gabe only kissed back for a few seconds before he faltered. There was something in the way William had said it that made Gabe feel afraid, recalling his capability to do what he had done to Pete, recalling when he’d smashed the cellphone with hardly any hesitation.

“What?” William asked, noticing he wasn’t kissing back anymore. “Come on, Gabanti, it’s supposed to be hot. It’s the kind of shit you like, right?”

“I wouldn’t say you _own_ me.”

William’s lips nudged against Gabe’s. “Well, that’s too bad.” He exerted more pressure on his shoulders to push him harder against the bed. “Isn’t that the kind of stuff you used to post on your blog, though?”

“I _guess,_ but that was before--”

“You still want it,” William stated, as if it was merely an obvious fact. “You want it.”

Before Gabe could protest, William’s lips were on his neck, kissing and nipping at the skin with the tips of his fangs. It was only a few seconds before William bit into him and started to siphon blood. He grinded down onto Gabe with each gulp, and Gabe couldn’t do anything but moan helplessly and roll his hips upward for friction.

“Now,” William took his fangs out and moved his lips to Gabe’s ear. He couldn’t help but grind down against him again as he growled, “Tell me you’re _mine.”_

“I’m yours.” However, that didn’t seem to be good enough for William as he lifted up one of his hands to spit on it and then wrap it around Gabe’s cock.

“I want you to scream it,” William ordered, raising his voice and starting to pump his hand up and down Gabe’s cock. “Fucking scream that I _own_ you, you whore.”

“You… _shit,_ you own me.”

_“Louder,”_ William hissed.

“You own me!” Gabe cried out, arching his back and gripping the bed sheets.

“Say it again.”

“You-- _fuck,_ I’m gonna…”

“Say it,” William demanded, moving his hand faster.

“You own me!” Gabe screamed, just as all the pent-up pressure released. He moaned out, “I belong to you, I belong to you!” as the orgasm rode over him and he came all over William’s hand. William’s motions with his hand started to slow as he watched Gabe’s mouth fall open and his head sink back into the bed as the pleasure washed away. Once William had stopped jerking him off, he lifted his hands up to his mouth and licked some of the cum off one of his fingers.

“That wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it?” William commented, tilting his head contemptuously.

As Gabe caught his breath, he just nodded quickly.

“You know, it could have been him,” Brendon suggested as he tried to scrub away dried blood caking the floor of the basement. William was watching from the chair he sat backwards on, preferring to do as minimal cleaning as possible and keep Brendon company instead. Sure, William loved blood, but not when it was months-old and hardened to the ground.

“Been who?”

“Gabe,” Brendon said, plunging the sponge into the metal bucket of murky, red water beside him. “I mean, there is the _small,_ very _tiny_ chance it could have been him who helped Pete.”

“He didn’t even know he was down here,” William said, resting his chin on the back of the chair. “I would have been able to tell if he knew. Besides, he was asleep the whole time Pete was escaping.”

“I don’t know how else he could have gotten out.” Brendon squeezed out the sponge over the bucket and then kept scrubbing into the puddle of dried-blood-and-water that was seeping near his knees. “Pete didn’t have any keys.”

“Maybe he picked the lock.”

“With _what?”_

“He must have found something,” William said. He held out his hand in front of him, studying the way his bones moved as he flexed his fingers. “Maybe one of his bones. They were all practically poking out of him, it’d be obvious to me if I was that desperate. He could probably eventually grow it back if it was small enough, anyway.”

“I don’t think I would tear out one of my bones on the off chance it’d work in a lock, and neither would Pete. It seems more likely Gabe would have helped him.”

“It wasn’t Gabe though,” William insisted, “I would know if it was.” He didn’t even want to think for one moment Gabe could have aided Pete or even known he was here. If Brendon was getting at something, William didn’t want to believe him. “Pete must have used one of his bones and that’s that.”

Brendon shrugged and kept scrubbing. “Sure, makes _lots_ of sense.”

William bristled. “Makes more sense than your guess.”

When William decided he’d had enough of watching Brendon cleaning the room in the basement, he headed upstairs to check on Gabe. He was making his way to the library, where he expected Gabe to be as usual, when he walked past the spare room that had been set up as the baby nursery and heard low humming from behind the door. William stopped and listened through the door for a few moments, smiling as he savored the sweetness of Gabe’s humming, before he slowly opened the door and saw Gabe was folding the rest of the pile of baby clothes that had been left unfinished when his parents left unexpectedly.

When Gabe noticed William had opened the door, he paused folding the pink onesie in his hands. Realizing William had probably heard, Gabe sheepishly explained, “I think she likes it. She’s been kicking while I’ve been singing.”

“Is she kicking right now?”

“Yeah.” Gabe put down the half-folded onesie on the dresser. “You want to feel?”

“You _know_ I always want to feel.”

Gabe continued to hum whatever song it was he had in his head while William walked to him and knelt down, placing his hand on the bump. William grinned when he felt her tiny feet poking from inside Gabe’s belly, then leaned closer and tried whispering, “Hi, baby girl, it’s your daddy.”

Gabe stopped humming to giggle delightfully as the baby kicked again. “I think she likes you talking, too.”

“We love you,” William continued, pressing his forehead to Gabe’s stomach. “I can’t wait to meet you. You’re gonna have the cutest little fingers and toes, and we’re gonna dress you up so cute with all those cute onesies your mommy is folding right now. I’m so excited.”

“I think she’s excited too,” Gabe commented, smiling harder as the baby kept kicking. “She _is_ gonna look so cute in these onesies.”

“She is.” William stood back up and wrapped his arms around Gabe’s waist, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “And we’ll make her wear cute little bows with them, too.”

For a moment, Gabe forgot about everything. The smashed cellphone, Pete, William’s distaste for his family and friends, everything that brought them here. None of the things that made William so awful felt possible when here he was, talking to their baby and being excited to be a father. Gabe couldn’t help but say as he gazed into William’s gentle eyes, “I love you.”

“I love you both so much,” William said. “Everything I do… it’s all for you two.”

Gabe smiled wider as he felt the baby kick again. “You know… we still haven’t thought about names very much.”

“We do need to talk about that,” William agreed. “Do you still like the same names as the last time you’ve told me?”

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking… I really love the name Leora,” Gabe suggested. “It means ‘my light’ in Hebrew.”

“That’s _beautiful,”_ William said approvingly. “I love the meaning. It’s _perfect.”_

“You really think so?”’

“I do.”

“And I was thinking for a middle name, ‘Rani’ would go well with it. It means ‘my song’. Leora Rani. It works, right?”

“Leora Rani Beckett.” The name flowed smoothly off William’s tongue like a melody. “Or Leora Rani Beckett-Saporta. It’s perfect.”

“Really?” Gabe was filled with elation that it was this easy to convince him of the name. He hadn’t been expecting outright rejection either, but… something about the acceptance felt unusual.

“Really,” William confirmed, pressing another kiss to Gabe’s cheek. “I can’t wait until we can actually call her that when she’s born and tell everyone that’s her name.”

“Right.” Gabe tried not to let his heart sink when he realized there wouldn’t be that many people to tell of their baby’s name. He just wanted to enjoy this moment with William, forgetting his flaws and anticipating their daughter. Gabe tried to reassure himself at least they’d be able to reveal the name to Brendon. “It’s settled, then. Leora Rani Beckett or Beckett-Saporta.”

“What if I told you I knew where Gabe is?”

Ryland wasn’t expecting to see Pete when he opened the door to his apartment this late at night. Sure, the first text he’d received from Pete in months was just him asking for his address, but he didn’t think he’d come over _ten minutes later_ to pound furiously at his door and suggest something completely nonsensical instead of a hello.

After a period of just staring at him clearly unamused, Ryland finally replied, “I’d say this isn’t funny.” 

Since Ryland had been tried as being an _accessory_ to a _crime_ and narrowly avoided being charged as guilty when he ended up winning the case with his shitty publicly-provided lawyer by some miracle, all he wanted was to lay low and get himself out of this vampire bullshit Gabe had put him and all his friends in. He’d gotten his first apartment with a few roommates after deciding to stay in Chicago for the summer and distract himself from worrying about Gabe by working more shifts to save up money for his coming junior year of college. The last thing he needed now was Pete at his door to give him false hope.

“Upstate New York,” Pete answered. “It’s more precise than that, but the point is: we can rescue Gabe if we hurry.”

“Are you on drugs or something?” Ryland demanded. _“Nobody_ could find them. Everyone’s giving up. You’ve got to give up, too.”

“William Beckett just kept me in his basement to torture me for nearly two months.” Pete rolled up his sleeve and displayed it, showing off the scars of bites and gashes that still had yet to heal. His wrists were still wrapped in bandages. “Joe and Andy will attest to it, they found the house again after Beckett captured me when I found it. Gabe helped me escape, I saw him myself.”

“And _why_ would William want to torture you for two months? He’d have killed you if that was true.”

Pete opened his mouth and pointed to his fangs, slightly longer than how canines in one’s mouth usually were. “I’m a vampire, dude, catch up. William turned me and he’s still pissy that I’m morally superior.”

“Oh.” Ryland raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Okay, so you know where Gabe and William are… so what are you trying to say? Because if you’re suggesting… I’m _not_ going to.”

“Suggesting you and Gabe’s other friends come along to help him get the hell out of there and possibly kill William and Brendon in the process?” Pete asked, raising his eyebrows at him. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

_“Pete,_ that’s fucking impossible. I’m not going to say yes to this and neither will everyone else. You’re welcome to try, but this is _William Beckett_ we are talking about.”

“It’s _only_ William and Brendon,” Pete attempted to persuade. “Every other Dandy is dead and they haven’t turned anyone yet. They’re weak, just the two of them! If my hunting agency and you and Gabe’s friends all get together, we can take them down! And because Gabe knows you guys, he’ll be more likely to come with us because he can _trust_ you guys. Don’t you want to see him again? Aren’t you worried about him?”

“Look, I wish I could, but I’m not a hunter, dude.”

“We’ll train you, we’ll give you guys stakes and everything,” Pete promised. “And you’ll have me and Joe and Andy there with you, the chances we all get out alive are actually really good considering our numbers! Please, you gotta give this a shot! We could potentially _save_ Gabe and his baby!"

Ryland was tempted to shut the door on Pete right then and there. After everything Gabe had put Ryland through just because he decided to fuck a vampire, and not just any vampire, but _William Beckett,_ Ryland knew he didn’t owe anyone anything and neither did any of his friends.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to close the door. He still felt that sense of obligation as a friend tugging at him to help Gabe, despite all the concern and legal trouble that'd only been brought in going along with all this. In fact, Ryland felt even more guilty that he’d been so passive for so long in letting Gabe date William instead of calling the police the minute he figured it out. If he had, he could have been easily cornered and killed while at the costume party.

Maybe this was all their faults. Maybe Ryland and his friends _did_ owe it to Gabe to at least try to save him.

Ryland sighed and opened the door to the apartment wider. “Fine. We’ll discuss it. But I’m not promising anything yet, okay?”

“Awesome!” Pete grinned, making Ryland flinch. He’d have to get used to Pete’s fangs now that he actually could notice them. “I’ve got, like, this whole plan. I’ll explain it to you and you’re gonna be so convinced.” As he walked into the apartment past Ryland, he took a small notepad out of his pocket and started to read it off before he even sat down. “Okay, Step One: Convince Joe and Andy… okay, did that…” Ryland shut the door behind Pete and quietly waved his hand at his roommate, Rob, to shoo him out of the living room before he could ask questions about whatever the fuck he’d just overheard or be forced to suffer through Pete’s insufferably long-seeming list. “Step Two: Convince Ryland… I guess that’s where we are… Step Three...”

It was obvious it was definitely going to be a long night when Pete offhandedly mentioned, “By the way, there’s, like, thirty-three and a half steps, give or take,” and Ryland’s response to that was getting a bottle of vodka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pete's not giving up so easily and Gabe's friends are returning... uh oh. We'll see how this plays out in the next few chapters, I can tell you they're definitely filled with a lot of chaos ;) But we got to find out the baby name this chapter, isn't that cute?? I spent so much time thinking about the name, because there was no way I'd use my favorite Jewish baby names for obvious reasons, and I came up with Leora Rani. I love it so much even if it's for a fictional baby.
> 
> Also, as I'm posting this chapter, it's raining so hard the streets are flooding and there was thunder so loud that it literally shook the floor?? I still can't get over the fact thunder can do that. I literally thought there was going to be an earthquake. So anyways, if anyone needs a good dramatic storm detail for their writing, thunder can literally shake the floor so you're welcome :)
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As always, any comments are hugely appreciated.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another long-ish chapter, yay! I'm posting it early because the next two days are going to be super hectic because art school just be like that. Enjoy, quite a bit happens in this chapter ;)

While Brendon drove, William kept an eye out for anyone who might be walking this late at night. Since they’d arrived in the area, it had become increasingly harder with every passing day to find anyone they could drink from since people were starting to catch on that _maybe,_ just _maybe,_ there could be vampires. It usually took an hour of driving around aimlessly, sometimes two or three, to find victims. Once in a while they just decided not to bother and drive down to NYC, which they’d started doing more and more often despite the long drive. However, tonight neither of them felt up to the trip, so they settled for the boring option.

“There!” William pointed to a group of people congregated in the parking lot of a motel. “Pull over.”

“There’s too many of them for us to try,” Brendon said, but he pulled over anyway. Luckily, the group didn’t seem to take much notice of their car down the road as their headlights went dark, enveloping them in the blackness that surrounded the motel due to the mix of the forest’s cover and relatively few streetlights. William and Brendon left the car quietly, gently shutting the doors and creeping into the trees beside the motel parking lot to watch the group from a distance. William was about to suggest they wait on the chance the group dispersed to follow one or two of them, but as he opened his mouth, he realized this wasn’t just _any_ group of people.

“I recognize them,” William whispered to Brendon, as they watched the group unload their suitcases from the two cars belonging to them.

“You do?”

“I think they’re Gabe’s old friends. From college.” As William studied the group more, he was able to distinguish each’s faces and figures. He pointed each one out to Brendon. “That girl was the one who was sorta more okay with me than the others. That one… I think his name is Nate? And then there’s that one guy with a very distinct face. And then there’s that one guy I always get confused with Nate because I swear neither of them cut their hair.”

“What about the other two?”

“I don’t know,” William said, watching the one with curly hair and the other with long hair and glasses as they got out of one of the cars. “They might be familiar, but I’ve never seen them around Gabe.”

“There’s no other possible reason they could have come here than to--” Brendon started, but he trailed off when he and William saw a much more familiar face they knew well running to the group from the motel office and exclaim, “Guys, I got the keys!” in a voice that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone other than Pete Wentz.

William was silent as he watched Pete and the others, hot and seething rage rising in his chest. Not only had Pete escaped, but he had the _audacity_ to return with not only his hunter friends, but also _Gabe’s_ own friends, likely to try to “save” Gabe.

William knew he and Brendon could win against the seven of them, but the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. If the group was properly coordinated, there was a likelihood they could kill William and Brendon and be able to take Gabe, and William had no doubt Pete would have something up his sleeve.

And despite how little faith William had in that group, considering how pathetic he thought Gabe’s friends and Pete to be, he couldn’t risk being so overconfident. William couldn’t let them take Gabe. Gabe was his, his and no one else’s.

“We have to get them before they get us.” William turned to Brendon, a wicked smirk growing on his lips. “I have an idea.”

Vcky groaned. “It’s not my fault he left it in the car!” She still couldn’t believe that Joe and Andy had knocked on her room door when she was about to go to bed, and all because Pete had forgotten his _toothbrush._ “Can’t it fucking wait?”

“It’ll be fine,” Joe assured her. “They don’t even know we’re here yet. Running out to the car for a minute won’t kill you.”

“But _Pete_ can’t go out himself?” Vicky asked. “Why can’t one of you two go get it? I don’t care about his toothbrush as much as you two do.”

“Pete’s different.”

“Yeah, he thinks he’s _so_ special and needs you guys watching him every minute just because William doesn’t like him. Come on, he’s a _vampire,_ he doesn’t need me to get his toothbrush for him at one in the morning.”

“Just _go,”_ Nate called out from the bathroom. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Look, we’re only asking you because we know you were slightly nicer to William than everyone else. So if on the _very_ small chance he did happen to come around, you’d be the most likely to live if you ran into him. Pete and everyone else wouldn’t be so lucky.”

“Fine!” Vicky threw her hands up, in the process accidentally slamming her hand against the door in frustration. Although the collision made her knuckles throb, she was too annoyed to pay any more attention to the pain besides snatching her hand to her chest and letting a bothered hiss breeze through her gritted teeth. “I’ll do it! But that doesn’t mean you guys are gonna make me do all the other ridiculous shit you don’t feel like doing for the rest of the time we’re here, got it?”

“Thanks!” Andy and Joe both chimed in unison. Joe threw her the keys as she rolled her eyes at their terribly-friendly smiles. As they left to tell Pete the great news that he’d get his toothbrush, Vicky left the door open and grabbed her sneakers.

As Vicky sat on the bed and bent over to furiously knot her shoelaces, Nate leaned out of the bathroom door and slid his toothbrush out of his mouth to offer, “I’ll come with you.”

“You’re the one who said it’s not that big of a deal,” Vicky snapped at him as she yanked at the last loops of her shoelaces. Nate shrugged, popped his toothbrush back in his mouth, and returned to the bathroom.

She shot up from the bed and stormed out of the room, wondering whether it was really worth being nice to William a few months ago if it meant now she had to go outside in an old t-shirt and pajama pants to get some stupid emo vampire’s toothbrush. It probably wasn’t worth it, but oh well.

She clamored down the metal stairs from the second floor of the motel and marched through the parking lot to the car. As she fumbled with the keyring for the button to unlock the car, footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her. “I swear, Nate,” Vicky started, “I told you it’s not that big of a deal, so go _screw off--”_

However, when Vicky turned, she saw it was in fact not Nate and fell silent. The keys dropped through her fingers at the sight of William Beckett and Brendon Urie, standing in front of her quite calmly. William warmly smiled at her.

“Vicky, isn’t it?” William asked. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Vicky took a step back but only ended up backed up against the car. Her heart thrummed in her ears. It took her a few seconds to collect herself enough to reply in a weak voice, “Yeah. It… it has.”

“What brings you here?” William wondered out loud. He took a step forward, close enough to take a strand of Vicky’s hair and twirl it lightly around his fingers. “There’s really only one reason I can think of why you’d be here with Pete and all of your friends. It’s for Gabe, isn’t it?”

Vicky didn’t say anything. She started to tremble as William kept playing with her hair.

“It’s so nice of you to be concerned for him,” William said. His eyes flicked from Vicky’s hair to her petrified stare, and he let her hair fall from his fingers. “You must miss him, don’t you? It’s alright if you do, I understand.”

Vicky swallowed back the growing lump in her throat before admitting, “Yeah. I… I do miss him.”

“I feel quite sorry you have to rely on those kinds of people to see Gabe again.” William’s eyes darted to the motel for a quick second. “You know, I’d be willing to let you see Gabe again without any trouble so you can know he’s alright.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch,” William assured her. “No strings attached. But… there is something I can offer you that I usually don’t.”

Vicky noticed his glance at her neck. She could probably take a few guesses at what he was about to say, but asked anyway, “And what would that be?”

“You’ve always been much more open to me and Gabe than the others, and I’m sure Gabe would love to have some familiar company around.”

“So you’re saying…”

“That I can make you a vampire?” Anticipating her answer, William tucked her hair behind her ear so he could get a better look at her neck. “We would _love_ for you to join us.”

Vicky looked back at the motel. She wasn’t sure why she came here in the first place, especially when everyone else was always talking about how excited they were to finally take down the Dandies for good. Even her own friends, who originally came for Gabe, had started to become inundated by the idea once Pete, Joe, and Andy had started training all of them in the basics of hunting vampires.

Vicky didn’t want to kill anyone; in fact, on the trip to New York, as the car had inched closer and closer, she had started to feel sorry for William. He wasn’t really _that_ bad. He just wanted him and Gabe to be left alone. Sure, he did kill Travie and Patrick, but if Pete had just minded his own business, William wouldn’t have even had to care about them. In fact, Vicky thought she’d probably do the same if she was a vampire, which she now had the opportunity to be.

She pushed the rest of her hair away from her neck and tilted her head to give William better access. “I’ll take you up on that.”

William eyed her neck hungrily. He started to lean in, but Brendon grabbed his shoulder before he could get too close and interrupted his trance with, “We should get back to the car before someone sees.”

“You’re right,” Vicky said. “I’m supposed to be getting Pete’s stupid toothbrush. The others will probably come out if I take too long.”

“They made you come out here just for a _toothbrush?”_ William chuckled. “Pete’s so spoiled, isn’t he?”

“He _is.”_ Vicky sighed as she followed William out of the parking lot and down the road to his car. She didn’t notice that Brendon didn’t follow. “He thinks he’s _so_ great, but all he’s been doing this entire time is planning his revenge instead of what actually matters, which is Gabe. It’s almost as if Gabe is an excuse or something to get us all to tag along with him.”

“I’m not surprised.” They reached the car and after unlocking it, William opened the backdoor for Vicky to climb in. Before shutting the door, William leaned down to tell her, “As soon as Brendon gets back, we’ll get going and I’ll turn you at the house.”

Vicky relaxed back into the seat. “Sounds good.”

And then her and William had a quite nonchalant conversation about her love of dogs. So he couldn’t really be _that_ bad if he thought dogs were okay.

“It’s been ten minutes,” Pete said, holding his cellphone inches above his face as he lay on his back on the motel bed. “Do you guys think something happened?”

“I doubt it,” Andy said. “Maybe she’s still looking, I’ll go out and help her.” He stood up from the other bed and headed to the door without so much as bothering to push back the curtains and look out the window.

Andy stepped outside, let the door close behind him with a soft _click,_ and surveyed the parking lot from the second floor of the motel. Instead of Vicky, he saw the shine of dropped car keys laying in the gravel next to the car.

“Shit,” Andy muttered under his breath, every crevice of his body flooding with panic. He spun around to open the door again, about to cry out that Vicky was missing, but in the corner of his eye something rushed at him at inhuman speed.

His head slammed against the ground. Black blanketed his vision. The words he’d been prepared to scream faded from mind.

When he saw William walk into the living room with Vicky, Gabe gasped. “Vicky?” A grin broke out on her face as Gabe abandoned the video game he’d been playing to run to hug her. “How the hell are you here?”

“Hey! It’s a long story, but William’s gonna turn me!” Vicky exclaimed as they hugged. “How have you been?”

The color drained from Gabe’s face as his grip loosened and he slowly pulled back from the hug. “Um… good.” He looked at William. “Bilvy, can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure,” William said. “Vicky, why don’t you just take a seat in the living room? We’ll get to business soon.”

“Sure.” Vicky plonked herself onto the couch while Gabe pulled William into the hallway.

“Why the hell is she here?” Gabe demanded, arms crossed. “What did you _do?”_

“Me and Brendon happened to run into her.” William smiled lovingly, as if what he’d done really wasn’t as bad as Gabe was making it out to be. “I thought you’d like some company, so I offered to turn her and she agreed.”

“You can’t just _turn_ her!”

“I can,” William stated. “She agreed, so I’m going to do it. You’ll be thankful for it later.”

“No, you’re going to ruin her fucking life!” Gabe protested. “Seriously, how the hell did you find her? Did you bribe her to come here or something?”

“I told you, we ran into her. She just happened to be in the area Brendon and I were hunting in.” William placed his hands on Gabe’s waist, pulling him closer so he could whisper in his ear, “It’s gonna be alright, okay? I’ve turned plenty of people before and she’s going to be fine. She wants it.”

“You’re sure? You didn’t intimidate her or anything?”

“Of course not, Gabanti,” William reassured him. “I just want to protect you and our baby, and it’s hard if it’s just Brendon and me. With Vicky around, you’ll be able to trust her to keep you safe, too. You’d rather have her protecting us than some stranger I pulled off the street, right?”

Gabe let out the breath he’d been holding and nodded, leaning against William’s forehead. “I guess you’re right. If it’s what she really wants… then go ahead. I can’t control her.”

“Great.” William momentarily stood on his toes to kiss the top of Gabe’s forehead. “I’ll have her in one of the guest rooms. You might not want to visit her until she’s had her first drink.”

“Is this _really_ safe to be doing in the house?”

“Of course, she won’t hurt you. It’s just a precaution.”

A frenzied scream erupted from the guest room as soon as William had closed the door and attacked, tearing his fangs into Vicky’s neck. It was obvious she was suddenly starting to regret her choice, Vicky trying to push him away while he swallowed down her blood in quick gulps. Her cries of _“Stop!”_ echoed throughout the house. However, the blood loss started to affect her quickly as exhaustion overtook her, followed by a bone-rattling shiver. Her arms weakly fell to her sides and what was left of her struggle ceased as she gave into the ache consuming her entire body.

Just as Vicky thought she was about to faint due to the fuzzy, black dots appearing in her vision, William ripped himself away from her neck and dropped her onto the couch. Vicky stared up numbly as he licked his lips clean of her blood, the same blood that was trickling all over her from the gash in her neck, warm streams of it slithering down her chest and arms like a red snake. She groaned, holding her hand to her sticky neck and leaning back, hoping the awful stinging would disappear.

William raised his wrist to his mouth and bit into it, blood immediately flowing over and dripping to the floor. He sat down on the couch, extending his bleeding wrist to her. “Drink.”

Vicky weakly took his wrist with her hand and held it to her mouth. She experimentally licked the blood with the tip of her tongue. The taste that fell upon her tongue was immaculate, causing her to gasp and her eyes to dilate with awe at the flavor. Without hesitation, she forced William’s wrist closer and bit into it as if it was instinctual, gulping down his blood hungrily. She moaned at each mouthful of blood. It warmed her stomach, a feeling similar to alcohol without the bitter aftertaste.

William watched proudly with a smirk as she drank. When he decided she had enough, he tore his wrist away from her despite her whimper at the loss of blood. “Very good,” William told her, wiping away a smear of blood from her chin with his thumb. “You’ll get human blood soon enough once you’re done turning, and it’ll be even _better_ than this.”

Vicky eagerly grinned, her teeth and lips still bloody. “I can’t _wait.”_

“Great,” William said, standing up. “I’ll have Brendon come in to supervise you when he’s done turning Andy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to anyone who thought that Pete and Gabe's friends would rescue him... I mean, they still have a chance, but not a very good one when William's certainly got something up his sleeve. Guess you'll see in the next chapter ;) Hope you guys enjoyed this one!


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to my roommates for finding out about my fanfic lmao love y'all art school freaks

“We are fucked.” Pete was anxiously pacing what little space there was between the wall and the bed in the motel room where they all had gathered. With Vicky and Andy missing, it left only five of them: Pete, Joe, Ryland, Alex, and Nate. “We are _so_ fucked.”

“How did he even know we’re here already?” Ryland asked, bewildered.

“I don’t know!” Pete stopped and leaned against the wall on the palm of his hand, his nails scratching through the paint and leaving marks. “He’s… he’s just William Beckett! I don’t know how the hell he does it!”

“We know his address,” Alex said, perfectly rationally. “We can still get Vicky and Andy back, right?”

Pete scoffed. “If they haven’t been killed yet!”

“We don’t know that!” Joe stood up from the bed to put a hand on Pete’s shoulder to comfort him. “It’s gonna be okay, alright? It’s still the five of us against two.”

“You mean one vampire and four humans against two of the most powerful and smart-ass vampires in the world,” Pete corrected. He tore his nails away from the wall to minimize the damage he’d rather not be billed for and instead dug his nails into his own skin. He began to scratch, but Joe yanked his hand away before he could draw blood.

“We’re gonna get them back,” Joe reassured Pete.

“It’s my own fault!” Pete cried out. “I should have just gotten my own toothbrush, I shouldn’t have--”

“You didn’t know,” Ryland said.

“Yeah,” Joe agreed. “It’s not your fault. We can get them back, tomorrow we’ll--”

“Tomorrow is too late. We need to go now!”

“Not when the sun rises soon. But first thing tomorrow, okay? We’ll go get Vicky and Andy and maybe even Gabe.”

“And kill William and Brendon,” Pete tacked on with a degree of certainty.

“And kill William and Brendon.”

Gabe woke up to a start in the middle of the day as soon as Vicky’s screaming echoed throughout the house. He shot up, but William sleepily grabbed his hand and tugged him back down to the bed.

“It’s fine, Gabanti, don’t worry about her,” William assured him, carding his fingers through Gabe’s hair. “Brendon’s watching her. She’ll be fine.”

Gabe nodded, although his eyes were still awake and wide with concern as he and William stared back at each other. After a period of listening to the faint screaming, Gabe asked, “How much does it hurt?”

“Turning?”

“Yeah.”

“I won’t lie, it’s not easy,” William said, disentangling his fingers from Gabe’s hair so he could stroke his cheek. “It hurts a lot. It’s like burning alive on the inside. But I’m sure if you’re able to get through giving birth, you’ll be able to get through turning. The pain passes quickly, you shouldn’t worry about it.” Just as he said that, the screams cut off, emphasizing William’s point. “See? That was only a few minutes.”

“You’ll be with me the whole time, right?”

“Of course.” He pressed a momentary kiss to Gabe’s lips and whispered against them, “Every single second.”

“They’re both done turning,” Brendon informed William as soon as night had fallen. “Vicky finished during the middle of the day, which I’m guessing you heard. Andy was done when I went to check on him in the basement just now.”

“Excellent,” William said. “You can bring Andy out for the plan. I’ll watch Vicky until you’re done.”

“Tonight’s the night.” Pete couldn’t help but grin as they all stood in a group in the parking lot by their cars, finishing hiding stakes and holy water in their clothes and shoes. “We’re going to do it, we’re going to kill Beckett. I can _feel_ it.”

“I sure fucking hope so,” Ryland said, checking the stakes on the inside of his jacket were secure. “The minute the fucker is dead, we’ll have Gabe back.”

“Remember,” Pete said, _“I’m_ the one who kills Beckett. If you guys are able to incapacitate him long enough to let me taunt him and deliver the final stab to his heart, I get to kill him.”

“We’ll be lucky if we even kill him at all--” Alex cut himself off mid-sentence when his eyes moved across the parking lot and thus spotted a figure stalking toward them. As it got closer and came into the light, he became recognizable. “Guys, it’s Andy!” Alex excitedly pointed. “He’s back!”

Pete whirled around, elatedly about to welcome him back when he noticed Andy’s bared fangs and hungry eyes, the way he stalked toward them rather than walked, slowly like a cat about to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. His face was void of emotion, reflective of the simplicity of his mind, where only one goal and one goal only ran through it. Pete took an uneasy step back. “That’s not Andy.”

“What do you mean?” Joe asked, raising a brow. “That’s him--”

“William turned him,” Pete realized. “Fuck, he _turned_ him. Let me try to talk to him, maybe he--”

Before Pete could finish, Andy launched himself at Ryland, who stumbled back. He fell to his butt on the gravel of the parking lot, managing to scrabble away as Pete pushed Andy away and pinned him to the ground.

“Andy!” Pete tried. “Andy, we’re your friends! Let us help you.”

Andy hissed, thrashing against Pete’s grip. “Let me go! I’m fucking hungry!”

“I’ll let you go if you agree to drink the blend.”

Instead of agreeing, Andy found the strength to throw Pete off of him and raced back toward Ryland. All he knew was he _needed_ blood, not that he knew these people and had spent years with some of them. Brendon, the one who had turned him, had told him to be merciless. Andy had of course obeyed, his head hazy with bloodlust to think of anything else other than how warmly Ryland’s blood would trickle down his tongue.

Fortunately, in the seconds he’d been spared by Pete holding Andy off, Ryland had gotten back onto his feet and grabbed a stake out of his jacket. Andy ran at him to attack, but before he could even so much as touch them, Ryland managed to drive the stake through his chest.

Blood sprayed onto each of them and across the gravel. Andy faltered before his piercing wail of agony ripped through the air, and Ryland took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to force the stake deeper and kick him away.

Andy fell to the ground, dead. His blood spilled all over his body from where the stake impaled him through the heart, pouring to the ground and coating the soles of all their shoes as everyone crowded around the corpse, shocked.

“I’m sorry,” Ryland choked out, his face contorted from failing to suppress a sob. “I… I’m sorry. He just… he just came at me.”

Pete tore his eyes from Andy’s dead body to glare at Ryland ruthlessly. “He could have been saved, and you just fucking killed him!”

“He was going to kill him first!” Alex defended. “Andy was a fucking _vampire!_ The chances he’d be an exception like you are fucking slim. It’s no worse than killing William.”

“But there was still a chance!” Pete said. “If I could hold him down long enough for someone to get the blend, he could have--”

“But you couldn’t hold him down!”

“You know what?” Nate said, but nobody noticed. “I’m not fucking attacking with you all tonight.” Nobody stopped him from leaving, too busy arguing. As he stormed away back to his motel room, he mumbled, “This is a fucking _mess.”_

“Andy’s dead and it’s all your fucking fault!” Pete roared at Ryland, stepping over Andy’s legs so he could get closer. He ignored the fact already Ryland reeked of guilt he didn’t need to be reminded of, shaking in fear at Pete’s rage. “He could have been saved!”

“I didn’t fucking come here for _this.”_ Ryland pursed his lips and swallowed to keep himself from completely breaking down as a salty tear slid down his cheek. “Are you forgetting that _I_ was the one who convinced everyone else to come on your stupid hunting trip and that we’ve lost Vicky, too?”

“Vicky doesn’t matter as much as Andy! We could take down William without her, but without Andy--”

“Do you realize how fucking shitty you sound right now, comparing them?” Alex interrupted. “This is all your fault, because you just couldn’t get your toothbrush by your damn self!”

“Guys,” Joe said, finally stepping in as a mediator. “Let’s all try to calm down, okay? Take a deep breath.”

“I can’t just calm down when Andy’s corpse is--”

 _“Pete,”_ Joe said. “This is what William wants. He wants us to turn on each other, that’s why he did this. We all need to take a time-out and just calm down. If we get mad, the only person winning is him.”

Pete somberly nodded. “You’re right.” He turned to Ryland. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.”

“I get it,” Ryland said, although the damage had been done. He cleared his throat and used the sleeve of his jacket to dab at his tears. “I get it. I just killed your best friend. That’s… difficult.”

“Exactly.” Pete drew in an inhale in an attempt to calm himself. “I’m… so sorry. We’ve just got to focus on William. I can mourn later.”

“We’re definitely going to have to… get rid of the body before we do anything,” Joe said. He looked to Ryland and Alex. “Can you guys go get Nate to help?”

“Sure.” They raced through the parking lot back to the motel, running up the stairs to what was now only Nate’s room since Vicky had gone missing. Alex pounded on the door. “Nate, can you come back out? We need you to help with something!” There was nothing but silence from behind the door. Alex banged his fist again. “Nate? Do you hear me?”

“Crap, don’t tell me he’s gone, too,” Ryland mumbled. He banged his fist on the door. “Nate?” His voice grew more strained and desperate as he grew close to tears again. “Nate?!”

“So… uh… you’re doing okay?”

William had reassured Gabe that it would _probably_ be fine for him to see Vicky after she had finished turning, as long as William was there the entire time _just in case._ It didn’t really do anything to calm Gabe’s nerves, but William insisted it was _probably_ fine. _Probably._

“I feel great.” Vicky grinned. The fangs in her mouth were an obvious difference, along with her paled skin and the appetite that swallowed the pupils of her eyes. “Just… thirsty.” Her gaze fell to Gabe’s neck and William had to snap his fingers to get her to look away.

“She’ll be much more normal once she’s had something to drink,” William told Gabe. “She wouldn’t attack you unless I told her.”

“Well, that’s a _relief,”_ Gabe sarcastically said, forcing a smile. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“We’ll only be here until Brendon texts and tells us he’s found someone for her to drink from.” William, still gripping Vicky’s arm to keep her on the couch, used his other hand to quickly check his phone. “Still nothing. Damn.”

Vicky stared at Gabe for a few unnerving moments before she commented, “Gabe, you smell so fucking good.” Her eyes drifted to his neck again, to the spot where there were two healing dots from the last time William had bitten him. Her mouth hung open and drool dripped off her lips as her gaze was affixed to it. “So fucking good. Is it because you’re pregnant? It smells so… so _rich,_ so _delicious…”_

William snapped his fingers again, startling her. “Stop it. You’ll have something soon enough.”

“It’s not my fault he’s got a bite mark right there,” Vicky whined. “Please, William, just let me have _one_ taste--”

William’s phone buzzed with a text and he shot up, yanking her with him. “Brendon texted. Let’s go.”

“But Gabe smells better!” Vicky cried, but William ignored her and dragged her away with him out of the living room.

Gabe _really_ hoped William was right that she’d be normal after this.

When Nate had stormed away from Pete yelling at Ryland, he didn’t think there was a chance in hell he’d be unlucky enough to be the third person taken. However, considering they’d just killed Andy, he realized it would have been safer to assume at least one other vampire would be in the area when Brendon slapped his hand over his mouth and snatched Nate away from the motel stairs to drag him into the forest. Nate, taken by surprise, had no opportunity to grab one of the stakes or vials of holy water and or knives he had on him, His only futile attempt at escape was wriggling against Brendon’s hold, which hardly seemed to slow him down or make any noticeable sound of distress.

Nate expected to die right then and there, but when Brendon had taken him a considerable distance into the forest, it was somewhat anticlimactic. He stripped Nate of his jacket, ridding him of most of his weaponry, then forced off his boots. After that, he patted him down for anything else and got rid of the one stake he’d hidden in his back pocket. Once that was done, Brendon managed to still hold Nate with one hand while he struggled and used the other to text. He didn’t seem too concerned with keeping the message secret, so Nate was able to read that he was texting William, _**got someone.**_

For another ten minutes, Brendon waited in silence as he kept a tight grip on Nate. Nate eventually stopped trying to escape since it would only be a waste of his energy he could use whenever the opportunity presented itself to run, if it ever did.

Finally, they heard trudging through the brush behind them. Brendon turned around, pulling Nate with him, to see it was William and Vicky. However, something about Vicky was… different. It didn’t take long for Nate to realize the difference when Vicky’s vision fell on him and she licked her lips hungrily, revealing the razor-sharp tips of one of her fangs.

Nate started to writhe against Brendon again, but nobody seemed to really care, not even Vicky. She watched him like a cat with a swishing tail about to pounce on its unsuspecting prey, cold and empty of emotion. Nate wanted to scream, but he was still muffled by Brendon’s hand no matter how many times he tried to repel it by nipping at his fingers.

“Nate, isn’t it?” William asked, cocking his head at him as he crossed his arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll be quick. Vicky’s just a little thirsty, is all.”

Vicky practically drank the air as she inhaled the faint aroma of Nate’s blood pulsating in his veins and arteries. “Nate, you smell _amazing!_ William, please, let me drink, I’m so thirsty. I’m _dying.”_

“So dramatic,” William flatly remarked. “Brendon, push him here.”

“Sure.” Brendon practically threw Nate the few feet over in their direction. Before Nate could catch his footing to run, his shoulders were seized by Vicky. She jerked him toward her and went for his neck immediately, biting down without so much of a moment for remorse. As Nate’s blood filled her mouth and dripped warmly down her throat, she moaned and sucked up another mouthful. The blood bled down Nate’s shirt, soaking it with the hot and thick liquid, as well as coating the strands of Vicky’s hair like liquid glue.

Nate did, of course, shriek in terror. “Vicky, Vicky, stop! It’s me, Nate, stop, stop!” However, she wasn’t moved at all. She kept drinking and drinking, downing the blood without so much of a thought. Her grip on Nate became tighter with every gulp, digging her nails through his shirt and into the skin of his shoulders to leave crescent-shaped indents that would bleed and later bruise. He thought this was how he would die, drained of blood in the arms of his former friend.

“That’s enough,” William ordered. Her fangs were ripped out of Nate’s neck as William grabbed Vicky by her shoulder to haul her off. Vicky hissed, her chin and teeth covered in the liquid ruby.

“I want more!” she cried out as William restrained her and Brendon rushed to hold Nate up before his weak legs could collapse from under him. However, as she was held back, she seemed to calm down. Now that she was satiated, she could focus on other things than only Nate’s bleeding neck.

“I’d love to let you drain him, but we need to leave him as a warning for your friends,” William said. “Don’t worry, though, next time I’ll let you drain someone.” William let go of Vicky and stepped closer to face Nate as he was propped up in Brendon’s arms. “Now, go stumble back to the motel and tell your friends all about this. That Vicky _willingly_ became one of us. That even worse will start to happen if Pete doesn’t back off and the next victim we take from them won’t be as lucky as you were tonight.”

Nate only stared back, terrified. William, sure he’d gotten his message through, nodded to Brendon. Brendon dropped Nate out of his arms and without a word, he walked away with William and Vicky, leaving Nate bleeding and weakened on the forest floor.

Nate couldn’t stand; instead, he crawled through the mud and pebbles and pine needles toward the distant lights of the motel that bled through the dark shadows of the trees. The only thing that drove him to keep going as his neck kept stinging and streaming was the duty he felt to warn all of them.

It felt like an eternity until he reached the motel parking lot and cried out, “Hello?! Ryland? Alex? Pete? I’m bleeding, hello, are you guys there?!” as he collapsed onto his back, already exhausted from the crawling. He felt dizzy. The sky and stars and telephone wires wavered above him.

“Nate!” Ryland and Alex came to his side and knelt down beside him to help him up, followed by Pete and Joe a few seconds later. “Holy shit, your _neck!_ What the hell happened?”

“Vicky…” Nate mumbled weakly. “She’s a Dandy now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always love another failed attempt at saving Gabe
> 
> anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd post this chapter early because I'll be busy tomorrow since it'll be Yom Kippur, so if you're Jewish too, gmar chatima tova :) Enjoy the chapter!

“We’re back!” William called out as he entered the kitchen, Vicky and Brendon following behind him. Vicky’s mouth was still coated with blood, so before she could wander off, William told her, “Wash that off your face, you don’t want to freak Gabe out.”

Vicky frowned. “Fine.” She walked to the kitchen sink and turned on the water, running her hands underneath it so she could scour the blood off of her face using her reflection in the window in place of a mirror. “Where’s Gabe usually?” she asked, rinsing her hands. “I wanna talk to him.”

“He spends a lot of his time in the library,” William said, seating himself at the kitchen table to more easily untie his shoes. “It’s on the second floor. You can handle yourself around him, right?”

Truthfully, Vicky said, “Yeah.” Luckily, what little of Nate’s blood she’d drank was enough to keep her sated for now, and she was able to picture Gabe in her head without focusing on his fleshy, bite-ridden neck for once, so that had to be a good sign.

“Good.” William kicked off one of his shoes. “Be careful with what you talk about, I don’t want you to scare him. He’s still getting used to you being a vampire, but I doubt that’ll last for long.”

“Gabe, hi!” Vicky greeted him eagerly when she’d finally found the library of the house. Gabe poked his nose out from the book he’d been reading. “Is it okay if I sit here?”

“Sure,” Gabe said, placing his book in his lap and moving over so there’d be enough room for Vicky to sit on the window seat beside him. She gazed out of the window for a few minutes, admiring the darkened foreground of mountains amongst the sky dotted with stars.

“It’s such a gorgeous view,” Vicky said. “You’re all really lucky to live here. It’s so nice.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s nice,” Gabe shrugged. “I’m more of a city person, but it’s still really cool.”

“Of course you’d be a city person if you’re a vampire fucker, that’s where they all are,” Vicky lightly joked. She took her eyes off of the view and made direct eye contact with Gabe. “I’m sorry if I weirded you out earlier. It’s not like I actually wanted to hurt you, or that I ever would. I was just thirsty, you know?”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Gabe reassured her. He readjusted the book in his lap. “So… how was… you know, blood?”

“Don’t even get me _started.”_ Vicky grinned, remembering how the taste had washed over her tongue. “It was fucking amazing! It was so warm and hot and the taste was just… _crazy!_ And it’s seriously so great to feel your victim go weak in your arms, you feel suddenly so powerful and like you can do anything to them. You’re seriously going to love it when you’re a vampire. I didn’t even feel guilty about it even though it was Nate’s blood.”

Gabe was able to handle her description just fine until the last sentence. “Wait, you drank _Nate’s_ blood? You _killed_ Nate?”

“No, no!” Vicky quickly shook her head and further clarified, “I didn’t _kill_ him. I mean, I probably would have, but William stopped me before I could. We left Nate alive as a warning.”

Gabe’s mouth was left open and he leaned back against the window. He inhaled sharply before asking, “Who else is here?”

Vicky started to count on her fingers. “There’s Ryland, Alex, Nate obviously, Joe, Pete… Andy, too, but I think Brendon told me he died...”

“I can’t fucking believe William wouldn’t tell me about this.” Gabe groaned. “He _knew_ you’re all here and he didn’t think to tell me?”

“He hasn’t told you?” Vicky suddenly realized her mistake and her eyes went wide. “Fuck. I thought you knew.”

“Well, thanks for telling me.” Gabe pushed his book out of his lap and shot up from the window seat. Voice tense, he said, “I need to have a _chat_ with William.”

“She didn’t even hesitate-- _ow!”_ Nate winced as Joe stitched up his neck, accidentally pushing the needle a little further than he needed. Joe didn’t exactly have the most nimble fingers, but he thought playing guitar had to count for something when he offered to try.

“Sorry,” Joe said. “I’m trying.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Nate said. “But yeah, she didn’t even hesitate. Brendon just threw me to her and she just bit me. And William was all like, ‘go back to the motel and tell everyone about this and worse shit will happen if you guys don’t back off.’ Oh, and he said Vicky _willingly_ became a vampire. Like, she _wanted_ that?”

Pete sat further back on the bed from where Nate and Joe were, pondering over Nate’s account of what had happened. It was only the three of them, since Ryland and Alex were busy hauling Andy’s body out into the woods to leave it to burn as soon as the sun rose over the mountains. Pete had offered to do it for them after they’d all said their final words to Andy’s body, since they had no idea whether vampires would still be lurking in the area, but it turned out to be too much emotionally for Pete to even touch Andy’s cold skin. It only sent him back to when Patrick’s body had been found, sucked dry with an ominous note in blood written beside him.

“William really knows what he’s doing,” Pete finally said. “First he _turns_ Vicky, and he makes us _kill_ Andy, and then he makes Vicky drink Nate’s blood. I don’t even want to know what else he’s thinking about doing.”

“Maybe we should leave,” Joe suggested quietly, gingerly pulling the needle and string through Nate’s skin. “We’ve already lost Andy and Vicky, and we nearly lost Nate, too.”

“Maybe Vicky’s not completely gone,” Nate said, even though he knew he was just denying the obvious by the heavy mass that settled in his stomach unnervingly. “She seemed more normal after she wasn’t thirsty anymore. We could try to reason with her.”

“She’s still a vampire, either way,” Pete said. “She’ll listen to William no matter what he tells her, he’s her creator. It took a lot for me to leave him, I doubted my gut the entire time I was running away from the Dandies. When it comes down to it, we’ll probably have to kill her, too.”

Nate was about to hang his head sadly, but it only sent a sting through his neck as he tilted his head. “Oh.”

“Back to the topic at hand,” Joe said. “We’re going to be decimated if we don’t leave. William isn’t the one who's going to die, _we_ are.”

“He’s just trying to scare us off because he knows we have a chance,” Pete said.

“We _used_ to have a chance,” Joe corrected. He finished stitching Nate’s neck and carefully raised a pair of scissors to cut the leftover thread. “But now we have two less of us.”

“We still gotta try!”

“It’s hopeless, Pete.” Nate sighed. “Joe’s right. You’re welcome to stay, but I’m getting the hell out of here in the morning.”

“You can’t just leave!”

“If I don’t, William’s just gonna tear the damn stitches out of my neck.”

There was a knock at the motel room door. Joe, already standing up since he’d been disposing of what was leftover from the suture, went to check who it was. After seeing it was Ryland and Alex safely returned from disposing of Andy's body, he opened the door for them. Before they could say anything, Pete demanded, “Tell Nate he can’t just leave.”

“What?” Alex said. “He should leave. _All_ of us should leave.”

“We were talking about it,” Ryland said. He bravely looked Pete in the eyes and stated, “Me and Alex are going, too. This was all supposed to be over tonight, but instead Andy’s dead and Vicky’s a fucking vampire! You said we’d get Gabe back, but we haven’t. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not all ‘professional’ hunters. I have a job to get back to, and Alex’s got his internship, and Nate’s got summer courses--”

“What the hell are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to fucking say there’s more to life than killing William Beckett if it means we’re risking our own lives,” Ryland said. “I love Gabe, but I’m not killing myself for him if we barely have a shot at rescuing him! This is a glorified suicide mission! Look around! I just dragged Andy’s corpse to the middle-of-fucking-nowhere after he nearly killed me and Nate almost just died because Vicky’s a fucking vampire too!”

“That doesn’t mean--”

“Your thirty-three and a half step plan isn’t going to fucking work!” Ryland snapped. “It didn’t take into account _any_ of this. It was all just bullshit propaganda to rope us into your hopeless wet dream of killing William and being a fucking hero! You think you’re a fucking _exception,_ but you’re just as ignorant and stupid and heartless as every other damn vampire!”

“That’s not true! Even if we are off plan, we can still--”

“You mean _you_ can do whatever crazy fucking thing you think will work,” Ryland said. “Nate, come on, we’re packing up and leaving now.”

Nate followed Ryland and Alex without hesitation as they left Pete and Joe’s motel room, slamming the door behind them hard enough the suitcases by the door fell. Pete and Joe sat in silence for a minute before Joe said, “We don’t have a chance without them. We should--”

 _“Leave?”_ Pete snarled. “But then William wins!”

“He wins no matter what!”

“We’re staying,” Pete laid down and rolled over to face the wall. “I don’t care whether we die or not.”

“Maybe you should care. If you die now, who’ll--”

“I don’t know!” Pete sobbed, burying his face in the pillow. “Just fucking shut up!”

Gabe threw open the door to William’s office. “I want to know what’s going on.”

William sighed and closed his laptop. “What did Vicky do?”

“She didn’t do anything but tell me she drank Nate’s blood.” Gabe strode to William’s desk and leaned on it. “How the hell did she do that when he should be back in Chicago? What aren’t you telling me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you.” William relaxed back in his desk chair, looking down regretfully before his eyes met Gabe’s. “Pete and some of your friends must have figured out we live around here. Brendon and I found them at a motel while we were out hunting. They came here to kill us.”

“They came to kill you?” Gabe asked. He slowly sank into an armchair by William’s desk as he processed the information. “No, but… they…”

“Not just me and Brendon,” William said. “All of us. We overheard them plotting. They’re just as willing to kill you as me, even if you’re human and pregnant.”

Gabe protectively folded his arms over his stomach, horrified by the thought. “Really?”

William somberly nodded. “I’m sorry, Gabanti, I knew how much it would hurt you if you found out your own friends would want to do something like this.” He stood up from his desk chair and slowly made his way to where Gabe sat to place a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “But we’re not going to let them even get _near_ any of us. That’s why Vicky drank from Nate, so he could be left alive as a warning. We’ve got a plan, okay? You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Gabe was silent for a few seconds before he said, “Okay.”

William reached out to close his office door and then stepped in front of Gabe, gently pulling him by his hand to stand up. “Let me make you feel better,” he insisted, tugging Gabe’s shirt up. “You don’t have anything to worry about as long as you’re with me, alright? We’re going to do anything to protect you and our daughter.”

Gabe nodded and said, “I love you.”

William’s smile was contagious, almost comforting. Against Gabe’s lips, he whispered, “I love you too,” before kissing him. His hands lowered to Gabe’s hips, pushing him to the desk. The kiss was slow and light, but still sultry as William undid the button to Gabe’s jeans. William momentarily lifted his face away so he could more easily pry the jeans off Gabe’s legs, then he sank into the kiss again as his hands roamed Gabe’s chest. Whenever his fingers trailed across Gabe’s sensitive nipples every so often, it caused a moan and Gabe grabbing at William’s hair to pull him in closer.

“What do you want?” William asked, leaving his lips to press kisses to his neck as he raised his knee to press it between Gabe’s legs.

“Fuck me,” Gabe moaned out.

“That’s what you want?” he teasingly asked, applying more pressure with his knee.

“Yes!”

“If that’s what you want, _whore.”_ William pulled away from his neck to undo his own pants, eyes steady on Gabe the entire few seconds it took for him to unbutton them and push them off along with his underwear, then lift his shirt over his head and drop it to the floor. When he was completely naked, Gabe’s eyes drifted to his hardened cock before suddenly William pushed Gabe by his shoulders and pinned him down, back against the desk. He leaned into his neck and bit in, taking a gulp of blood to spit it onto his hand to prepare Gabe. As his fingers dipped into Gabe to stretch him, he said, “You’re such a fucking slut for me, aren’t you, laid all out on my desk like this?”

Gabe moaned as William brushed against his prostate. “Yes, shit, I am.”

“You’re so fucking slutty, Gabanti.” William hissed, pressing against the spot again. “I _own_ you, don’t I?”

“You do!” Gabe cried out, arching his back.

“That’s what I wanna hear.” William smirked before sliding his fingers out and then lining his cock up. “Beg.”

“Please, Bilvy, fuck me!”

“And _scream_ that I own you.”

“You own me!” Gabe yelled. As William pushed himself into him, Gabe continued to moan and continued, “¡Te pertenezco a ti!”

“Good.” William thrust into him hard without warning, rattling the desk. Gabe wailed out as William continued to fuck him, digging his nails into his shoulders and pushing him further to the desk with every snap of his hips. As Gabe felt the impact of each thrust, he moaned, “Mierda, te amo, te _amo.”_

William came first, his grip squeezing Gabe’s shoulders hard enough that he’d certainly leave bruises. He kept thrusting into Gabe for as long as he could as he could, screaming, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” before he pulled himself out when he had finished. He quickly lowered his lips to Gabe’s cock to finish him off too, licking up the shaft before taking it in his mouth and sucking on it. It hardly took any time for Gabe to come, making him cry quietly under his breath as William swallowed his cum before pulling off him with a pop.

After Gabe had caught his breath, William leaned next to him on the desk with a soft smile. He ran his fingers through his hair, whispering yet again, “I love you.”

Gabe grinned back, reaching out to curl William’s own hair around his finger. “I love you, too.” 

Unbeknownst to both of them, that would be the last time they’d have sex before Gabe disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, William's a manipulative bitch. Anyways, I wonder what that ominous last line could possibly mean... you'll get to find out soon, but feel free to take some guesses ;)
> 
> Also, the smut from this chapter is definitely not my greatest work now that I read over it, so sorry lol.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's a fun one

“Could we maybe go hunting again soon?”

William stopped typing on his laptop and glanced up at Vicky, who was standing in front of the couch with her arms crossed. “We just went out last night,” he said, “didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but… it was so fun!” Vicky insisted, a glimmer of a grin appearing on her face for a moment as she recalled drinking her former best friend’s blood. “I miss it already. I just wanna taste blood again… it was fucking _amazing.”_

“You’re not thirsty yet,” William knowingly stated. “You don’t wanna get addicted.”

“Addicted?” Brendon snickered, glancing over from the video game he was playing alone. “Pot calling the kettle black. You might as well have an addiction to Gabe’s blood.”

“It’s not my fault the pregnancy hormones taste good.” William rolled his eyes. “It’s a completely different thing.”

“Yeah, you keep believing that.” Brendon paused the video game. “If you don’t want to take Vicky out, I can.”

_“Someone’s_ got a _crush,”_ William teased with a smirk. Brendon chucked a pillow at his head, mussing up his hair and causing Vicky to crack a smile. “Fine, if you wanna take her out, go ahead,” William relented, throwing the pillow back to him and straightening out his hair. “Just be careful. Pete and all those other idiots could still be out there if they still don’t know what’s good for them.”

“Got it.” Brendon stood up to turn off the video game console before he walked over to where Vicky stood. “Let’s head out now.”

As an attempt to make conservation while they drove in the car, in search of pedestrians, Brendon asked, “Do you think your friends have been scared off by now?” 

“If I know them,” Vicky said. “Probably. In the end, they really don’t have as much dedication as Pete to all this. And once they’ve left, Pete and Joe will have to realize they don’t have a chance and leave for a while, at least ‘til they regroup with more hunters or something.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.” It was silent for a few moments before Vicky asked, “So… William was just joking earlier when he was like ‘someone’s got a crush’, right?”

“Oh, yeah, totally just joking around.” Brendon nervously laughed, but he soon became flustered. “I don’t have a crush on you. Not that I _wouldn’t,_ you’re really attractive and pretty and nice and smart. But I don’t. It’s not like I _don’t_ think you’re attractive or that like I would never date you, it’s just that my boyfriend kinda just died. So…”

“No, it’s okay, I get it,” Vicky said. “It’s fine. That’s gotta be difficult.”

“Nobody even, like, _knew_ we were dating,” Brendon started, and suddenly he found himself rambling. “So I shouldn’t be that sad Ryan’s dead, right? It’s my fault for even having feelings for him in the first place, William made the rule that there was no dating allowed for that reason, because everyone’s always trying to kill us. Although mostly so he could fuck us whenever he wanted. But then he started dating Gabe, and that rule kinda just went out the door like it never mattered in the first place.”

Brendon’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he continued, “So me and Ryan, we were finally about to come out with our relationship because it seemed like things were getting serious with Gabe after he got pregnant and moved in, but then the whole raid happened. And when Ryan got killed by hunters on our way here, I just had to pretend he was like every other Dandy to me, but he _wasn’t,_ he was… he was _Ryan._ And because William doesn’t know I’m still kinda fucked up over the death of my secret boyfriend, I’m going to place a bet that he’s gonna make more jokes about us getting together for fun because he has nothing else better to do besides fucking his own boyfriend who he never had to keep a secret.”

“I’m sorry,” Vicky said. “That’s awful. I can’t even begin to imagine how shitty that’s gotta be.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for just laying all that on you suddenly. I’m mostly fine, just sometimes… I don’t know, I wish I could tell William without not knowing how he’d react to it.” Brendon sighed. “I just want him to understand I’m _not_ ready for a relationship and he keeps making all these implications that I must have a crush on you or something just because we fucked, but only because you were literally _turning_ and it’s not like that would make me suddenly have a crush on you… not that I _wouldn’t_ have a crush on you. I just don’t, because, ‘ya know, the whole Ryan-just-died thing. But maybe I would someday. Not that I _do._ Not that I _will,_ but like… I don’t know, you get the point by now.”

“No, it’s really okay. I get that,” Vicky assured. “It’s not like I have a crush on you, either. Not that I wouldn’t. You’re cool.”

“Cool.” Brendon awkwardly nodded and kept driving. An awkward silence settled in the car as they kept briefly glancing over at each other. It lasted for a few minutes until they saw a biker ride by and Vicky cried out, “Stop the car!”

Brendon pulled over. As soon as the car had stopped, Vicky tore her seatbelt away and rushed out of the car in pursuit of the biker. She caught up within the minute and threw herself at the biker, toppling him over onto the side of the road and causing him to scream. The biker, a dorky-looking ginger-haired teen, hadn’t been wearing a helmet. A shard of glass on the road scraped against his head as he hit the ground, causing a gash to appear by his ear and spill blood.

Vicky grinned as she watched the blood trickle into the gutter of the road, turning a fresh puddle red. She pinned the boy down as he thrashed against her. Just as she was leaning in, savoring the way her teeth pinched his skin before she’d sink her fangs in, the burning sensation of a stake being driven through her back tore through her. Her grip on the boy loosened and she fell off him as her agonizing scream ripped through the air, allowing him to scrabble away and abandon his bike to flee.

Before the stake was torn out and plunged into her again, this time aiming at her heart, she saw Joe’s cold face. She cried out for Brendon, his name only half-way out of her throat when it all became silent and dark around her.

Brendon was waiting for her in the car, ready to drive away in a hurry as soon as she finished, when Vicky’s screams of distress startled him. He bolted out of the car and in the direction the screams had come from, but it was too late. There lay Vicky splayed out on the road, motionless and bleeding out from her chest and back. Whoever had attacked her was already gone.

“Damn it,” Brendon cursed under his breath, rushing to her side. Tears began to gather in his eyes as he muttered again in a broken voice, _“Damn it.”_

He gently lifted her body into his arms and carried her to the car.

“Gabe?” William stepped into the baby room. As soon as Gabe saw him, he closed the drawer he had been organizing; he could tell something was wrong.

“What is it?” he asked, bracing himself for the news.

“Brendon just called me,” William said, tone seeping with sorrow. He stepped closer to Gabe to hold his hand. “There’s no easy way to say this, but Vicky… she’s… she got staked.”

Gabe stared at William incredulously. “No,” he whispered. “This… this can’t be real. She can’t be dead.” A tear slid down his cheek. “She can’t.”

“I’m sorry, Gabanti.” William wrapped his arms around Gabe as he fell apart, shuddering with every heaving sob he gave. “I’m sorry.”

Gabe let him hug him for a few moments until he pulled himself away and accused, “This…” The word rolled off his tongue bitterly, seething with rage. “This is all _your_ fault. I _told_ you not to turn her and now she’s fucking dead!”

“Gabe…” William tried to soothe, reaching out for him, but Gabe pushed his hand away.

“Everyone just fucking _dies_ around you!” Gabe cried. “When am _I_ going to die? When’s our _daughter_ going to die? You’re stupid and irresponsible and you always fucking _lie_ and you never listen to me--”

“I’m sorry, I know this is hard, but--”

“You’re a fucking _asshole!_ You don’t care about anyone except yourself, _hijo de puta!”_ Gabe’s voice raised with his anger. “You killed Travie, you killed Vicky, you killed Patrick, you thought about killing my little brother and destroyed my cell phone so I can’t fucking see my family! You’ve never loved me, you just like controlling me and making my life fucking miserable!”

William just stood there, hurt, as Gabe stormed away past him to their bedroom down the hall where he slammed the door.

When Brendon returned with Vicky’s body, Gabe refused to come out of the bedroom when William knocked, instead telling him to “Fuck off!” He watched from the window as Brendon and William buried her in a small clearing of the forest not too far from the house. Even from a distance and in dim lighting, the way her body was lifeless and limp as she was lowered into the six-foot-deep grave infuriated Gabe.

Gradually, as he watched them shovel dirt into the hole, Gabe knew this was the last straw. He should have left a _long_ time ago. He needed to leave as soon as he could before he forgave William and the cycle started all over again. He and his daughter weren’t safe here, not if Vicky was dead and Pete and all of Gabe’s own former friends were ready to kill them, too.

William ended up sleeping in one of the guest rooms to give Gabe space, which provided the perfect chance to escape. Gabe woke up early in the afternoon and hurriedly packed whatever he thought would be useful in a backpack he found in the closet. The secret cell phone his parents had given him in case of a situation like this, a stack of money, and a change of clothes were shoved in before he carefully stepped down the stairs and snuck down the hallway.

When he finally opened the door and stepped into the sunlight, Gabe felt a surge of confidence. He was untouchable in the day; he was _free._

Before he left, Gabe went to the clearing where Vicky’s grave was marked by the mound of dirt. He stood in front of it somberly for a few seconds, trying to articulate something meaningful. However, there felt like no words to convey how he felt. He settled for, “I’m sorry,” and plucked a few flowers of Queen Anne’s lace to leave on her grave.

Afterward, Gabe went to the road and started to walk. He didn’t know where he was going; he hadn’t left the house since visiting his mother. He started to doubt himself, whether this was a good idea, whether he really wanted to _leave_ William, but it was too late to go back now.

Walking was tiring, especially considering he was heavily pregnant and he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, but he couldn’t stop no matter how much his feet ached. The further he got, the harder it would be for William to find him when he eventually came searching.

Gabe walked for hours that he felt like stretched longer than they should have, but it still came as a surprise when the sky became tinged with orange as the sun started to go down. Panic filled every crevice of his veins. He needed somewhere to take refuge for the night and _quickly._

Just as he had thought that, it seemed almost miraculous a building came into view in the distance down the road. As Gabe walked faster, he felt immediate relief at seeing it was a synagogue.

He didn’t realize how exhausted he was until he stopped at the backdoor of the synagogue; Gabe had to lean against the wall for support, head spinning as he caught his breath. He knocked at the door a few times, hoping at least someone would be inside to let him in.

A minute later, the rabbi, a man in his 30s wearing a black kippah over his thinning hair, came to the door and opened it. He kindly smiled, but before he could say anything, Gabe begged, “Is there any chance you could let me stay for the night? I’m sorry, but I have nowhere else to go.”

“Of course, of course, come in.” The rabbi opened the door wider for Gabe to enter. “We’ve got a couch in the basement I can set up for you to sleep on. Can I get you some water, something to eat?”

Gabe nodded. He’d, very regrettably, forgotten to pack water and snacks. He was parched and starving. He followed the rabbi to the synagogue’s kitchen, where he poured him a glass of water. “I’m Rabbi Cohen, but you can just call me Dave,” he said, handing Gabe the glass of water.

“I’m Gabe,” he said before gulping down the cold glass of water. When the glass was empty and Gabe set it down, Dave immediately refilled it.

“So, what happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” he gently asked.

“Vampire boyfriend,” was all Gabe said before he took the refilled glass of water and drank it again, this time slower.

“Ah.” The rabbi nodded understandingly. “Is there anyone I can call for you? A friend, a family member, the police…”

“It’s okay,” Gabe said. “I’m going to call my dad in the morning. He’ll come pick me up.”

“Good. You don’t have to worry about any vampires getting you here, alright? The whole vampires not being able to go in churches applies to most synagogues, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s intriguing stuff, actually. The halakha of it is tricky, but I managed to vampire-proof this shul anyway, thank G-d. Anyways, you're completely safe here,” the rabbi reassured him. As he opened a cabinet and ripped open a package of cookies for Gabe to eat, he added sincerely, “You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“He’s gone!” William burst into Brendon’s room, waking him with a start. “I can’t find him anywhere?”

“Gabe?”

“Yeah, of fucking course, Gabe!”

Brendon shot out of bed. “Do you think Pete could have kidnapped him?”

“No, if he had he would have tried to kill us,” William said. “It must be because we fought after he found out Vicky died. He blamed it on me, he called me an asshole and an ‘hijo de puta’, whatever that means.” He sank down onto Brendon’s bed and buried his head in his hands. “I just… I thought he’d get over it, he always does… but now he’s gone! What if I never see him again? What if I never get to meet my own _daughter?”_

Brendon sat back down next to him, cleared off a few of the shirts he’d had strewn around his bed, and placed a hand on William’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna find him. He couldn’t have gotten that far. Did he take the car?”

William sniffled, wiping the back of his hand against his nose. “No.”

“See?” Brendon handed him a tissue. “He couldn’t have gone that far, especially if he’s pregnant.”

“You’re right.” William blew his nose into the tissue and then said, “We can still find him. He’s _mine, _he has to come back to me once he realizes how… how _foolish_ this is.”__

__“Exactly,” Brendon said. He rubbed William’s shoulder and stood up. “Come on, let’s go look for him.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I tricked you into think there was gonna be a Brendon/Vicky romance arc but... oh well, she's dead now! And Gabe finally ran away... but I don't know if William will let him go so easily. Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> (and ofc i had gabe seek refuge in a synagogue bc big jewish mood)


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving y'all this chapter a bit early because I'll be busy tomorrow :/ Anyways, enjoy! Also, there is a bit of Spanish again in this chapter (I know, I'm starting to regret it too) but I'm only putting a translation in the end notes for the part where Gabe and Diego are talking about the box, because everything else is short and doesn't matter as much.
> 
> (Also, yes, I did change my username. Bonus points if you know what song I took it from)

Gabe found himself in the hallway of the synagogue, standing by a window that radiated comforting daylight as he overheard the faint reciting of Hebrew by the morning congregants in the other room. The rabbi had told him he was welcome to join the service, and although Gabe was tempted and especially in need of spirituality right now, he knew he would only be putting off calling his father.

He held the cellphone his parents had given him in his hand, still internally debating with his finger positioned over the power button. When he finally pressed it and held it down, a mix of relief and unsureness rippled through him, as if his entire relationship with William would be finally over, utterly unsalvageable.

When the phone finished turning on, Gabe went into the phone’s contact list and saw all the familiar names. His mother, his father, Ilana, Ricky: all the numbers they’d told him would be programmed in. His finger hovered over his father’s contact before eventually he tapped it and called.

Diego picked up almost immediately, asking, “Gabe, ¿qué pasa?”

Gabe glanced at the window, squinting at the shining sunlight. “Quiero ir a casa.”

Diego had absolutely no problem cancelling all that day’s appointments to pick Gabe up from the synagogue all the way in New York, and Gabe was never happier to see him, crying as they hugged. Still exhausted from the walk the other day and because he’d been kept up last night by nightmares, Gabe slept during the entire car ride home. Ilana and Adrian were just as overjoyed to see him once he came inside, and being still tired, Diego led Gabe to his bedroom. It had been untouched since Passover except for the addition of a few unpacked boxes of Gabe’s belongings that had been left in his dorm room when he’d run away.

Instead of sorting through the boxes in search of clothes, Gabe decided it would be easier to go to the closet to get something clean. He did have a change of clothes he’d brought with him in his backpack, but he was afraid to open it, in case they still smelled faintly of the house he’d left behind, of William.

When he opened the closet, he noticed an opened box at his feet, the one with all his items of when he’d been obsessed with William. The mugshot was still at the top, from when Diego had once found it.

Gabe hadn’t realized his father was still in the room, watching as Gabe stared down at the box. “Deberías quemarla,” Diego suggested. His voice was soft, and the “la”, referring to the box, wasn’t very noticeable since Gabe was distracted.

“¿Esto?” Gabe asked, picking up the framed mugshot and admiring William’s bloody, contemptful grin that had been captured in it. He already was beginning to miss him and the baby kicked in agreement.

“La caja entera,” Diego said. “Te hará daño.”

Gabe was silent, placing the mugshot back into the box with care and then pushing it back with his foot, further into the closet until it was out of sight. “Tal vez.”

“What if he really did go with Pete?” William asked, lying with his back on the kitchen floor while Brendon poured each of them a glass of wine. He turned his head from the ceiling slightly to look at the back of Brendon’s head. “You don’t think he would have done that, right?”

“No, I doubt it,” Brendon assured him, putting the wine bottle back on the counter with a gentle _clink._ He brought the two wine glasses over and sat down, legs crossed, next to William on the floor and handed him a glass. William took it and forced himself up to drink it.

“I just don’t get it,” William mumbled between half-hearted sips of wine. “We should have found him by now, or he should have come back by now. Yeah, _maybe_ I could have been a better boyfriend in some regards, but this just isn’t fair.”

Brendon nodded understandingly. “Is there anywhere else he could have gone?”

“Maybe his parents?” William sighed. “But I destroyed the cellphone with his mom’s number on it.”

“Maybe he had it memorized,” Brendon said. “I mean, I still remember my mom’s number by heart.”

“Doesn’t count, we grew up in the ‘90s.”

“Stop making me feel old,” Brendon lightly joked. “But seriously, it’s possible he could have gone back to his parents. If he doesn’t know their phone numbers, he knows their addresses, and that’s enough.”

“Maybe I should check there,” William tipped his wine glass towards his lips, watching how the liquid sloshed, but he didn’t drink. “I can’t rule it out.”

“Let’s go tomorrow night,” Brendon said. “Maybe he’ll have had some time to think by then and start missing you.”

“I can’t wait until tomorrow. I have to go tonight, I gotta know if he’s alright.” He glanced up from his wine. “And I’d prefer to do it alone, too.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” William held his glass even though it was already half-empty. “Cheers.”

“It’s too late to be making a toast.”

“I’m just trying to be fucking positive here.”

“Fine.” Brendon raised his glass to clink it against William’s, making him smile. “Cheers.”

“To…” He debated a few moments, before finally deciding on, “To finding Gabe, because I _will.”_

Brendon guzzled the rest of his wine. The alcohol already was obviously starting to get to him as he cried out while raising his empty glass in the air, “Hell yeah!” and then got up. “Do you want more?”

“I’m good, thanks,” William said, taking a much more uninterested sip. “Are you trying to get drunk or something? You’re gonna have to have fun alone, I should stay sober to drive.”

He shrugged as he grabbed the wine bottle off the counter and wrested the cork off. “I’m just trying to forget.”

William raised an eyebrow. “Forget what?”

In particular, he didn’t want to be thinking about what could have been with Ryan or even Vicky, but Brendon settled for the all-encapsulating word of “Everything,” and left it at that.

Gabe hadn’t expected everything to suddenly be perfect now that he was back home, but he didn’t expect the matter of what was to be done now that he’d returned to be brought up so quickly.

There’d already been the first semi-disagreement during dinner, when Diego had told him to continue college and transfer to Rutgers for the fall semester. Gabe wasn’t exactly enticed by the idea of switching universities after he’d worked so hard just to go to college in Chicago and end up in exactly the kind of situation he was in.

However, as he trudged up the stairs to his room and thought over it, he realized that was the only realistic option he had. Now that William was out of the picture, Gabe was left pregnant and having given up everything for a relationship with a vampire that wouldn’t last. He was now merely a fuck-up who’d been too inundated with his fantasies of being killed by a vampire to realize where said fantasies would lead him now.

Gabe swung open the door to his room and froze. The screen in the window had been ripped out so William could discreetly enter his bedroom, where he was now sitting on the floor and taking a look through the box that Diego had suggested Gabe burn.

“William,” Gabe whispered under his breath, his eyes wide with pure shock, his heart quickly speeding from a steady thump to a rapid and anxious pounding. William glanced up from the box at him, slowly setting down the pictures he'd been looking at back into the box. “What… what are _you_ doing here?”

“I want to talk.”

“Kinda fucking stalker-ish to sneak into my bedroom,” Gabe spat. “Isn’t it?”

“It’s not stalking if I’m worried about you.” William uncrossed his legs and got to his feet, his voice hushed as he asked, “Please, can you close the door? I just want to have a conversation with you, that’s it.”

Still, Gabe didn’t waver. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t scream.”

“You still love me, Gabanti,” William stated. “And that’s all the reason you need.”

William hadn’t even been completely sure that would work, but Gabe’s hand creeped to the doorknob to slowly close the door behind him. “Fine. We can talk.”

“I just want to know _why_ you left,” William pleaded. “It was so sudden. I just want to know why. Please.”

“You know why.” Gabe had no idea why he suddenly felt so unnerved, as if the racing of his heart was predicting the outcome of the conversation already. “Vicky was just the last straw.”

“I never meant for her to die. I can’t imagine how you feel, losing one of your best friends, and you have every right to be angry with me. But everything I do, I only do with the best of intentions for us and our daughter.”

“And making me cut off my family was one of those things? After you had one argument with them?”

William sighed and admitted, “I should have considered how you’d feel before I destroyed your cell phone. I acted irrationally. You and our daughter should be able to see your family. I’m sorry for all the times I’ve been dishonest and inconsiderate to you; I swear, I’ll work on it if you come back. I love you so much, Gabanti, you know I’d never intentionally hurt you.”

Gabe _wanted_ to believe him, and he already did, but there was still something nagging at him that made him hesitant. He wanted nothing more than to go running back to William; not just because it was the easiest option, not just because it would be a waste of everything he’d already given up if he didn’t, but because he _loved_ him. Two nights without sleeping in William’s arms were already proving to be difficult alone. “I wish I could believe you. I _want_ to.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep us safe, I swear,” William promised. “I’ll even move us again, so nobody can find us if that makes you feel safer. Maybe even near here, so you’ll be closer to your family if anything happens. That’d be nice, right? I’ll stop being so overly-dramatic and violent so I don’t endanger us, I’ll do whatever you need me to.”

“You’re still dangerous either way,” Gabe said. “Dangerous for me, for my family, for our daughter.”

“I--”

“You don’t get it.” Gabe found himself about to blurt it out, even though the last thing he wanted was to reveal it, and then he said it. “I know about Pete.”

William cocked his head. “Know _what_ about Pete?”

“You kept him in the basement,” Gabe said. “You tortured him for weeks on end.”

William’s eyes fell to the floor and he bit down on his lip for a moment before he said, “I should have guessed you’d find out eventually.”

“How do I know you won’t do that to me? How do I know you won’t do that to our daughter?”

“Gabe,” William’s expression flooded with hurt as he looked back up at him, “I’d _never_ even think about doing something even remotely similar to that. I’d never harm you or our daughter.”

“But Pete’s the _exception,”_ Gabe pointed out. “You _always_ say he’s the exception.”

“I knew he’d hurt us, and look, it’s his own fault Vicky’s dead. I don’t have any doubt he could have staked her himself.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“He came to where we lived with the intent to _kill_ us.”

“And maybe that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t tortured--” Gabe was cut off by a sudden tightening in his stomach. He winced, folding his arms over his stomach and biting down on his bottom lip to stifle a groan. William immediately rushed over, placing one hand on his back to lead him to the bed.

“Is it a contraction?” William asked, voice immediately filling with panic as he helped Gabe lay down.

Gabe nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think…” He inhaled before continuing, “I don’t think it’s a real one though. It might just be stress again.”

William nodded understandingly, sitting next to him and watching him with care. “Let me know if you need anything, Gabanti. I’m right here.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said, the contraction already starting to ease. He released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “I’m good. It’s starting to go away now.”

“Good.”

As William ran his fingers through Gabe’s hair soothingly, staring into each other’s eyes in silence, Gabe realized he didn’t want to leave this. He loved him, and William loved him back.

“I still don’t know how to feel about the fact you…”

“I’m sorry,” William whispered. “I did warn him, of course, I’m not terrible. But he still wouldn’t leave us alone. Trust me, torture was a last resort. I didn’t enjoy it; I just had to get the message across to him and that was the only way I could.”

“What are you going to do the next time you see him, then, if even _torture_ didn’t keep him away?”

“There’s only one other option,” he said, very regretfully. “It pains me to think about. I really don’t want to, but if it’s necessary, I’ll have to if he still doesn’t listen. But I’ll only do it if I have your permission. I’ll give you time to think about it, I know it’s hard.”

Gabe would only realize William was putting life and death in his own hands later; for now, he was glad to at least have some sort of say in the matter. “Thank you.”

“I want to keep trying with you, Gabanti,” William laid down next to him, taking his hand and entangling his fingers with his. “I want to make this work. I love you so incredibly much. I would spend eternity with you. I want us to raise our little Jewish vampire daughter together and be the best parents we can, maybe even to more children. Someday we could even return to Chicago, if you like, and you can be just as powerful as I was as a leader of the Dandies with me. And I hope that’s all what you want, too. That’s my dream for us.”

William observed Gabe’s face as he thought and finally decided, “That’s what I want, too.”

A grin lit up on William’s lips. “Would you like to go back with me, back home? It doesn’t have to be tonight, I can give you time to--”

“No, I want to go back tonight.”

“That’s wonderful.” William’s smile grew wider, eyes shining before he pressed a quick kiss to Gabe’s mouth. Gabe couldn’t help but smile as well. “Let’s go.”

“Not yet.” Gabe sat up. “After my dad and Ilana have gone to bed, we will. I need to write them a note and tell them I’m going back with you. I doubt they’ll be pleased, but--”

“But it doesn’t matter.” William sat up and rested his chin on Gabe’s warm shoulder. “This is _your_ decision. Not mine, not theirs, but _yours.”_

“You’re right,” Gabe said. “It _is_ my decision.”

“Exactly.” He wrapped his arms around Gabe’s waist. “Your decision. As it should be.”

Diego found the note lying on Gabe’s bed the next morning when he discovered he was gone yet again, reassuring him he was okay and it was his own decision to try again with William after a lot of thinking. After reading it once and again until the sentences were branded into his brain, he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at the wall. The crumpled paper bounced off the wall and landed on the box that still lay on the floor from when William had taken it out of the closet to look through.

“Dijele quemar la caja,” Diego furiously muttered under his breath. He bent down and snatched the box into his arms, the pictures of William laying at the top of the pile only angering him more, and he hurried out of the room with it. He only stopped to get a box of matches from the kitchen.

“What’s in the box?” Ilana questioned, prompted by his alarming urgency that was present in the way he stormed into the kitchen.

Instead of answering properly, Diego only told her, “Gabe went back to _that_ son of a bitch,” and kept on carrying the box outside.

“He went back to William?” Ilana asked. She abandoned the cereal she’d been pouring a bowl of to follow Diego outside with the box. “When? Why?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Diego threw the box down onto the sidewalk in the backyard with a clatter. He hastily grabbed a match and striked it against the side of the box, engulfing the tip with a flickering phoenix-colored flame.

“It’s eight in the morning, Diego, you can’t just be burning stuff so close to the house! I know you’re upset, but--”

He leaned down and flung the match into the box anyway, then stepped back as they both watched the box slowly blacken as the fire spread across it. The papers inside curled as they burned, William’s sickening grin fading away from the photos into obscurity. They both stood in silence as they watched thin, ashy bits of paper swirl up in the smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION:
> 
> Gabe hadn’t realized his father was still in the room, watching as Gabe stared down at the box. “You should burn it,” Diego suggested. His voice was soft, and the “la”, referring to the box, wasn’t very noticeable since Gabe was distracted.
> 
> “This?” Gabe asked, picking up the framed mugshot and admiring William’s bloody, contemptful grin that had been captured in it. He already was beginning to miss him and the baby kicked in agreement.
> 
> “The entire box,” Diego said. “It'll only hurt you.”
> 
> Gabe was silent, placing the mugshot back into the box with care and then pushing it back with his foot, further into the closet until it was out of sight. “Maybe.”
> 
> (Note about this scene: Diego says "la", referring to the box, which would be a feminine noun in Spanish, but his voice is soft enough Gabe thinks he's saying "lo" and referring to just the photo, which would be a masculine noun in Spanish. idk if that's obvious or if it matters, but I thought I'd clarify it in case anyone was confused?)
> 
> \--------
> 
> Gabe's going back to William already... poor dude. And we know by now that William still probably won't get any better lol. The next chapter has somewhat of a dark aspect to it, which I'll warn you more about in the notes of the next chapter, but... yeah. Gonna be... fun. So at least you guys have a week to prepare yourselves for it, although next chapter really isn't even as bad as it gets? That's all I'll say right now.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter kinda has dubious consent/William being a dick, so if you're not comfortable with reading that then feel free to skip over the smut scene.
> 
> I'm posting this chapter during my lunch break while sipping a coffee and watching it rain outside after having just bought 4 books so I'm really vibing rn lol. Hope you guys like the chapter!

During the entire ride home, crossing the border from the familiarity of New Jersey to the unfamiliarity of New York, Gabe couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on William as he drove, concentrated on the road. Only a few hours earlier, he had thought that the entire relationship was over and done with, but now the past Gabe had ultimately been proved wrong by deciding to return to William. As they had snuck out the door of Gabe’s father’s house late that night, he hardly felt like he was doing anything wrong by following William to his car; instead, it only felt like finally realizing the outcome that had been inevitable from the start.

William noticed Gabe’s staring and smiled at him briefly before his eyes flickered back to the road. “I missed you, Gabanti,” he said fondly. “I don’t know if I could ever say that enough, even if it was only a few days.”

“I missed you, too,” Gabe whispered. He still kept his eyes on William; whether he was captivated because of admiration or disbelief, he didn’t know.

An hour later, they pulled into the driveway of the house. William didn’t reach for the door to get out right away. Instead, he turned to Gabe and stared back at him. His eyes skimmed the shadowed, dim features of his face before falling to his lips.

“I missed you,” William repeated, glancing up to meet Gabe’s eyes once more before his gaze fixed back on his lips. Gabe didn’t say anything; his eyes fluttered shut as William leaned forward to kiss him.

His lips were soft and sweet, as if afraid to scare Gabe off. William lifted his hand to rest it on the side of his face, rubbing his thumb gently over the end of his jaw. The tenderness made Gabe feel light, stomach filled with the pattering wings of butterflies and unconditional love. It was as if it wasn’t William Beckett kissing him at all, as if he’d only done something that could easily be forgiven.

William broke the kiss and rested his nose against Gabe’s. As a smile played lightly on his lips, he suggested, “Let’s continue this inside.”

As they got out of the car, a shot of pain ran down Gabe’s lower spine, where the growing baby’s weight was becoming considerably heavy. He winced and briefly leaned against the car door. “Maybe we should just stick to kissing tonight. It’s been a long day and my back hurts.”

“It’s not that late,” William said, coming around the front of the car to Gabe and resting a hand on his back. “Let’s just see if the back pain goes away in a few minutes, okay?”

Gabe supposed it wouldn’t hurt to wait a little, so he nodded, following William inside and upstairs to the bedroom. The house felt more strange and empty than usual now that Gabe was returning, but William told him Brendon was out hunting, so Gabe reasoned that must have been why the vibe was odd.

As soon as they entered the bedroom, William shut the door behind them and took Gabe’s hand to lead him to the bed. As soon as they sat down, William wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled Gabe forward to kiss him, much stronger and frenzied with desperation than he initially had been in the car. His tongue pried at Gabe’s lips, licking his way into his mouth. The pain in Gabe’s back had luckily since dulled, so he bowed his head to the side to allow William to press kisses to his neck.

William drew his arms away from Gabe’s shoulders and pulled back, but then grabbed them again to push him down to the bed. The abruptness caused the back pain to return, as well as an uncomfortable heaviness from the weight of Gabe’s stomach. Just as William was leaning down to return to his neck, Gabe asked, “Could we not do this when I’m laying on my back? It hurts, especially with the baby being so big now.”

“Seriously?” William frowned down at him, eyes narrowed. “I do so much for you. I went through all the trouble of trying to find you and you won’t sit still and make it up to me?”

“Sorry,” Gabe mumbled. He looked away, trying not to let his surprise show on his face that William wouldn’t grant such a seemingly minor request. “It’s just not that comfortable--”

“I missed you _so_ much, Gabanti, I had no idea whether I’d be able to ever see you again. Is it too much to ask you just do this for me?”

“I missed you too, but--”

William grabbed his chin and tilted Gabe’s head up to kiss him, forcing his lips on his for a few seconds before he said, “Shut up, bitch. If we’re going to have sex, you’re just going to have to do this one little thing for me. Got it?”

Gabe quickly nodded, fear in his eyes. William, seeming pleased, kissed him again. He grinded his hips downward to meet Gabe’s, smirking into the kiss when he heard a moan from the back of Gabe’s throat.

“See?” William muttered against his lips, rolling his hips down again against the hardness growing in Gabe’s pants. “You’re just fine, you slut.”

Gabe didn’t get a chance to say anything before William was kissing him again, his hands sinking to unbutton Gabe’s jeans and push them down. Gabe reluctantly lifted his feet so the jeans could be pulled off his legs and thrown aside. William crawled back over him and dipped his fingers underneath the waistband of Gabe’s underwear to press his knuckles against his straining cock.

Gabe whimpered, grinding up in William’s touch and grabbing at the bedsheets. Gabe had convinced himself if he focused on the sexual pleasure, maybe his discomfort would therefore be less noticeable. The ache and pressure on his back was still plenty noticeable, but it hardly seemed like William would relent and let him sit him up anytime soon, even if Gabe still thought it couldn’t be that ridiculous of a request.

“You want me to fuck you, you whore?” William asked, pressing his fingers harder against Gabe’s cock as Gabe kept pushing his hips up against him.

Gabe nodded hurriedly and said, _“Yes,_ Bilvy, you gotta.”

“Good,” William said. He took one of Gabe’s wrists and lifted it to his mouth, stating, “We’re using your blood again, by the way. No exceptions. But it doesn’t matter, because you love it, don’t you?”

“I do,” Gabe said, although if given the option, he wasn’t completely sure whether he would have agreed or not. But that was neither here nor there, because William was sinking his fangs into Gabe’s wrist, swallowing a few gulps of blood that cascaded onto Gabe’s shirt and stained the fabric with lively red blotches. The sharp sting of fangs was at least distracting from the back pain, so at least that was something.

After William had enough of tasting the blood, he dropped Gabe’s wrist from his grasp, licked the blood off of his lips, and ordered, “Take off your shirt and underwear for me.”

Gabe was able to sit up, giving him a brief moment of relief from the pressure on his back as he yanked off his bloody shirt and kicked off his boxers. When he was naked, William’s eyes combed over his figure before William pulled his own shirt over his head and then wrestled his own pants and underwear off. Once that had been done, he took Gabe’s wrist again and bit in the same spot to suck up a mouthful of blood that he proceeded to spit into his hand, coating his fingers.

William pushed Gabe back onto the bed roughly, pinning him down with his clean hand and using the other to force apart his legs. Without warning, he inserted two of his fingers into Gabe to stretch him. Even though Gabe was quite used to the sensation and William was usually quick at finding his prostate, the sudden added ache of William’s fingers prying into him only contributed to his discomfort. He bit his bottom lip and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the pleasure would come soon.

Luckily, William didn’t take long to find the prostate, eliciting an immediate moan as Gabe let go of the breath he had been holding. With a smirk, William prodded his curled fingers against the spot and asked, “Do you wanna be fucked, you fucking whore?”

“Yes, please!” Gabe cried out.

William didn’t force him to beg further since he’d been anticipating this all night, and instead took out his fingers to line himself up with Gabe’s hole. Before pushing himself in, William took his hand and smeared blood across Gabe’s face, grinning with his fangs and whispering, “Gorgeous,” as he admired Gabe’s bloody chin and parted lips before his gaze came to rest on his eyes and smiled wider. Gabe couldn’t help but smile at him too; William calling him gorgeous suddenly made everything worth it in a way that Gabe couldn’t logically explain.

William kissed him, slow and savoring, metallic and bitter with blood on his tongue, and then started to push into him. He pressed his forehead against Gabe’s, smoothing his hand over Gabe’s hair and placing another kiss to the corner of his mouth before he began to thrust his hips backward and forward, rocking into Gabe. A series of moans fell from each of their mouths. It wasn’t as distracting from the pain as Gabe had hoped it would be, but the way William moaned melodically and easily hit the right spot with each consecutive snap of his hips did well enough.

_“Fuck,_ Gabanti, I missed you, I missed _this,”_ William gasped out, “I love you so fucking much.”

“Fuck, I love you too,” Gabe managed to get out through gritted teeth. William kissed him, swallowing the rest of his moans until he felt Gabe tense around him. William broke the kiss, allowing Gabe to moan out, “Mierda, I’m gonna come.”

William grabbed Gabe’s shoulders, sinking his nails in enough that he’d certainly leave bruises and thrusting harder. “Do it, bitch.”

With one last snap of William’s hips, Gabe moaned loudly, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” and came onto William’s stomach. William didn’t slow, progressively fucking harder and harder long after Gabe had come down from climax until William reached his, releasing a strangled cry as he came.

Once William had finished and slowed his thrusts to a stop, he pulled himself out of Gabe and collapsed next to him, allowing Gabe to roll onto his side so William could kiss him.

“I missed you _so_ much,” William mumbled into the kiss. “You’re not disappearing from me _ever_ again. Never, never again.”

“You’re not telling me something,” Pete said, standing in the doorway of their tiny motel bathroom as he watched Joe brush his teeth.

Joe spat out his toothpaste and shrugged at Pete’s reflection. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Pete narrowed his eyes at him. “You’ve hardly said anything in the last few days, man. What’s going on with you?”

“I told you, nothing.” Joe grabbed for a towel to wipe his mouth.

“You didn’t kill William before I could, did you?”

“Of course not! You know I couldn’t do that alone if I tried.”

“Then what’s got you acting like this? You’ve been silent since we went out hunting a few days ago.”

Joe put down the towel and gripped the sides of the sink. “I had to kill Vicky.” His eyes dropped from the mirror to the faucet, watching his distorted reflection in the silver as he said, “I don’t wanna do this anymore, Pete. Everyone’s dying around us. We’re never gonna win.”

His voice sympathetic and soft, Pete asked, “You killed Vicky? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it. I just can’t block out the memories anymore. The faces of Andy and then Vicky as they were staked and their eyes went glassy… they _haunt_ me.”

“I’m sorry,” Pete said. He took a step into the bathroom and laid a hand on Joe’s shoulder, hoping to comfort him as he was hunched over the sink and nearing tears. “Look, man, as soon as we kill--”

“It’s a death sentence to try. We… we’re lucky to still even be _alive_ at this point, considering everything that happened so far.” A sob broke from his throat. “Two of our friends are dead just because we came back here. I want to go back to Chicago and just live my life instead of waiting to die!”

“Joe. this is what Beckett wants--”

“And he’s gotten what he wants.” Joe lifted his head up, gazing blankly into his reddened eyes, murky from crying. He reached up to gently push Pete’s hand off of his shoulder. “Our lives are at stake here. I’m not compromising on that. You can come back anytime you want with enough hunters to break into William’s house and slaughter him instead of just waiting to catch him off guard and alone, but I’m not.”

“But what about Gabe?”

“This was never about Gabe. You just wanted to take something from William and piss him off, didn’t you?”

Pete froze. “Well…”

“Things wouldn’t have gone this far if you weren’t so obsessed,” Joe said. “This is too much of a cost just to save one person and an unborn baby. We all should have heeded the warning when Patrick was killed, we should have known to back off long before that. You’re too persistent, Pete, you seriously need to take a step back and reassess if you’re doing all this for the right reasons.”

“I… I guess so,” Pete admitted. “Maybe I do.”

“We’re leaving tonight,” Joe stated. There was no room for compromise in his tone. “As soon as we can get out, the better. We’re cursed as long as we’re this close to Beckett.”

Pete didn’t say anything else, but followed Joe back into the room to start packing. Joe was right. He wasn’t doing this for Gabe, despite how much he had fooled himself into believing it would be in Gabe’s best interest; he was doing this to spite William Beckett.

Even so, as they drove away, there was something magnetic as they left, pulling at Pete. He couldn’t resist forever, not when he knew where exactly William and Brendon hid. He knew if he came back, it would have to be when he had the means to kill them, not just a thirty-three and a half step plan that relied on predictability.

He had to be mentally prepared to take advantage of William’s weaknesses in order to finally bring him to his knees. Pete could no longer have mercy if he wanted to break his creator; if William had taught him anything during all this time, it was that to win, he had to take those William loved, even if it meant murdering innocents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... so... fun chapter right. Gabe totally didn't make a mistake or anything by going back to William... uh no he totally did, poor dude. I hope the smut wasn't too bad, I wrote that a couple of months ago and I've improved since then at writing darker stuff like that (which I hope isn't too weird to say? lol) but I was also worried I'd overedit it so I left it as it is with a few minor edits, so I hope it still got the point across that this shit is fucked-up.
> 
> Next chapters are very Jewish and starting to get more messed-up (are you shocked), so hope you're prepared!


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two Spanish conversations, so that means two translations in the end notes. Woooooooo. I'm sorry.

When Gabe woke up and crawled off the bed to check his burner phone, careful and quiet so as not to wake William, there was one missed call from Ricky, three missed calls from Ilana, and too many to count from his father. He had no doubt that his sudden departure was the reason.

After a moment of deliberation, Gabe decided to try calling back Diego to reassure him he was safe and stepped out into the hallway, shutting the bedroom door softly behind him. Just as Gabe was about to press the call button, Brendon came bounding down the hall and exclaimed, “Gabe, you’re back!”

Gabe beamed as Brendon hugged him. “Hey!”

“I’m so sorry about Vicky,” Brendon rushed to apologize. “If I knew that a hunter would kill her… I wouldn’t have ever let her go off alone.”

“I understand, don’t worry,” Gabe said. “Sometimes that’s just… out of your control. It’s not your fault, it’s Pete’s.”

Brendon nodded eagerly. “Exactly. On the bright side, though, it seems like we’ve scared them off for now. I checked last night and they’d left. They’ve given up. That’s good, right? You don’t have anything else to worry about.”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. No more deaths.”

Brendon noticed the phone in Gabe’s hand just as he was about to say more and asked, “Oh, were you about to call someone? Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“No, it’s okay. I was just gonna leave a message for my dad to let him know that I’m fine, that’s all.”

“Mm,” Brendon hummed thoughtfully. Instead of taking the hint to leave Gabe alone to call Diego, he mentioned, “You know… before all this, I used to think about running away.”

“Oh,” Gabe said. “Really?”

“Pete was kinda inspiring at the time, in a weird way,” Brendon said. “But when I finally got the opportunity to when the Dandies were raided by the police, you know, I just couldn’t. I don’t know what it is… but William’s just inescapable.” Brendon chuckled lightheartedly. “Even when Ryan is dead. Even when Vicky is dead. Even when all the Dandies are dead except me and him. Even when it’s so easy to blame everything on him…” As Brendon listed, he forced a cheery smile onto his face. Then he shrugged. “But I don’t know, I guess I just can’t live without William. Spencer sure couldn’t when he ran into the sun.”

Gabe pursed his lips as he listened, confused on whether he should feel concerned or threatened by Brendon. “Uh… yeah. I guess.”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is I get how you feel,” Brendon said. “It’s totally normal what you feel and I’m always here if you wanna talk. Living with William can be a lot sometimes, but he means well. That’s all I’ve gotta say, I’ll let you call your dad now.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said, glad Brendon was finally walking away. He wasn’t exactly sure how to interpret everything Brendon had said, which had almost sounded like doubt in William by the way he phrased it. Was it a trying reassurance or a confused warning?

Gabe decided not to dwell on it and lifted his cellphone to his ear as he called his father. Diego didn’t take very long to answer; the first ring was cut off, picking up immediately as if he’d been anxiously waiting by the phone all night, maybe all day.

“Él es un _ladrón,”_ Diego said as soon as he answered, barely giving Gabe a chance to say anything. “William te está robando _todo._ Tu vida, tu libertad, tu control, tu hija, podría seguir. ¿Qué diablos estás haciendo?”

“Papí,” Gabe sighed. He knew he should have expected this reaction from his father. “Estás exagerando. Es mi elección.”

“No es tu elección. Es _su_ elección.”

“Y supéralo,” Gabe hissed. “¡Porque es el padre de su nieta y no puedes cambiar el hecho!”

Diego fell silent, inhaling and exhaling to calm himself down before he said, “Sé que no te puedo convencer, pero… algún día, espero que te des cuenta el daño de esto.”

“Tal vez,” Gabe said, although his eye roll was evident in his tone. “Si eso es todo lo que quieres decirme, colgaré…”

“Espera,” Diego said. “Incluso con todo lo que está pasando, te invito a nuestra fiesta para Rosh Hashaná en unas semanas. Te queremos, mijo.”

Although Gabe already knew the answer to what he wondered, he asked, “¿William puede venir?”

“No.”

Gabe sighed. “Me lo pensaré.”

Gabe sat at the kitchen table, stirring his spoon in his cereal and watching as the untouched flakes swished around and dived in the almond milk. William sat across from him, brows furrowed as he worked on his laptop before he looked up and asked, “Something on your mind, Gabanti?”

Gabe hesitated, considering whether he should tell William that his father had extended an invite to him for the family’s Rosh Hashanah party. On one hand, William had promised he wouldn’t hinder Gabe’s relationship with his family anymore; on the other hand, Gabe wasn’t sure how William would react if he found out he wouldn’t be allowed to accompany Gabe to the party. William probably wouldn’t be shocked, but Gabe didn’t think he could count on him to be completely free of jealousy, either. Gabe settled for a simple, “Rosh Hashanah is coming up in a few weeks.”

“Oh, really?” William asked, sounding interested. “Jewish New Year, right?”

Gabe nodded. “Right.”

“We can do something for that, if you want,” William said. “What do you usually do on Rosh Hashanah?”

“Usually I go to synagogue, and we eat apples with honey and pomegranates and tzimmes, stuff like that,” Gabe said, careful not to mention the most memorable part of the holiday, his family’s annual party. “We wouldn’t be doing anything big for Rosh Hashanah, I guess.”

“And then there’s no more holidays until Chanukkah, right?”

“...Not really. There’s Yom Kippur. And Sukkot. And Simchat Torah.” Three extra chances for his family to invite him over, three extra chances to risk asking William.

“I’ll try to remember to put them down on the calendar. What do those entail?”

“Yom Kippur is pretty much just fasting,” Gabe explained. He knew there was plenty more to Yom Kippur than the fasting aspect, like repentance and the last chance to change your fate before it was sealed for the year, but he doubted a vampire would care much for a holiday about _repentance._ “But I won’t fast since I’m pregnant. Sukkot is… uh, the holiday where we eat all our meals in sukkahs, like our ancestors did in the desert. So you’ll have to build me a sukkah. And Simchat Torah celebrates the giving of the Torah, there’s not much for that holiday besides going to synagogue and getting drunk.”

“Uh… what’s a sukkah?”

“It’s like a wood hut with leaves on the top and stuff on the top, and you shake a lulav and etrog when…” Gabe could tell he was already losing William there, so he said, “Yeah, just look up what one looks like on your laptop.”

William nodded and opened a new tab on his laptop. “How’s it spelled?”

“S-U-K-K-A-H.”

William typed in the word and hit enter. He slowly nodded as he scrolled through the images. “Seems simple enough. Me and Brendon can buy some wood soon and have that up in a day. Your birthday is coming up, after all.”

Gabe’s upcoming birthday on October 11th had completely slipped his mind. That was yet another occasion he was sure his family would want to celebrate with him. “Oh, I forgot about my birthday.”

“Do you have any ideas of what you’d like to do for your birthday?” William asked. “I’d suggest drinking since you’re turning twenty-one, but considering you’re pregnant… probably not the best idea.”

“Yeah, definitely not.” The few times Gabe had envisioned his twenty first birthday, he’d imagined a night out with all of his college friends and feeling a jolt of excitement at getting to show his real ID instead of his fake ID at a club, drinking until he was wasted enough to attract any potential thirsty vampires in proximity. He certainly hadn’t imagined spending such a milestone pregnant and nearly isolated in a house in New York with William Beckett. “I guess just a cake would be fine.”

“Nothing else? You wouldn’t want to visit your family or anything?”

“No,” Gabe said, knowing that was the answer William would prefer. The light smile on William’s lips he couldn’t hide confirmed it. “I guess… it probably would be better not to risk it. I wouldn’t want to celebrate without you there, right?”

“You’re right,” William agreed. “I’d miss you.” Gabe knew there was much more to it than William merely missing him, but he didn’t say anything as William continued, “I’m glad you’re thinking what I was thinking. For a moment there, when you said Rosh Hashanah was coming up, I thought you’d say you’d wanna spend it with your family or something.”

Gabe picked up his spoon from the rim of the bowl, shook his head, and shoveled cereal into his mouth to avoid having to talk about it.

As Gabe placed the cover on the pot of tzimmes as the potatoes, yam, and carrots simmered in a mixture of orange juice and brown sugar, he heard the ringing of his cell phone. It was at that moment he realized he hadn’t called his father since he’d invited him to the family’s Rosh Hashanah party, of which the holiday was tonight.

Gabe moved from the stove to the sink, where he’d set down his cell phone nearby, and answered. As Gabe gazed out the window above the sink, watching through the dimness as William and Brendon were forming the frame of a sukkah from the pile of wood in the back of the house, he said, “Hola, Papí. Lo siento, me olvidé de la fiesta, pero--”

“Comprendo,” Diego said, although the bluntness hardly seemed understanding. “Estoy llamando a preguntarte, ¿por qué huiste de William en primer lugar?”

“Papí, si estás tratando de hacerme huir otra vez--”

“Sólo dime. ¿Qué fue la causa de tu comprensión?”

Gabe went silent, looking through the window and past William and Brendon, into the trees where he knew Vicky’s grave lay in the nearby clearing. Finally, he mustered up enough courage to say, “Uno de mis amigos murió. Vicky. Ella está muerta.”

“¿William la _mató?”_

“No, es… es que…”

“Así que William la mató.”

“No es así, fue un accidente. Vicky era un vampiro, y un cazador la mató. Temí y hui, pero luego me di cuenta de… estaba exagerando sobre la situación.”

“Mijo, si tu amiga está muerta, no estabas exagerando.”

As Gabe still stared out the window, he caught William’s eyes and waved with a smile. Although it still made Gabe’s heart skip a beat to see his boyfriend smile while putting together a whole sukkah for him, Gabe weakly waved back and turned away from the window to lean against the sink. Pressing the cellphone closer to his ear and eyes on the ground, he told his father, “Tienes razón.”

Diego, seeming satisfied at least _that_ had gotten through to Gabe, said, “Shana tova, mijo.”

“Shana tova.”

William looked away from the window and back to Brendon once he saw Gabe turn away while on the phone. “You don’t think he’s talking to his dad _again,_ right?”

“You kinda did scare off his friends,” Brendon said, standing on a step ladder. “So I don’t know who else it could be.”

William shrugged, annoyance in the way he rolled his eyes. “Oh well.” He leaned down to pick up another piece of wood to hand it up to Brendon so he could nail on the top of the frame of the sukkah, as a support for the branches that would be put on the top as a roof. As Brendon took the wood and positioned it to nail it in, William let his eyes drop from Brendon’s face. “Have I ever told you your ass looks good from this angle?”

Brendon chuckled, taking it as a joke as William handed him the hammer and a nail. Wry, he said, “Nah, I don’t think so.”

The corner of William’s mouth raised in amusement, and that was when Brendon noticed his eyes were still staring-- no, _admiring._

He suppressed a shudder and slammed the hammer down on the nail.

When Joe wasn’t sure where Pete could be hiding, the closet was usually his first guess. He was usually right, especially this time; as Joe swung open the door, he was greeted by the sight of Pete curled up with a laptop. He sat underneath the hanging clothes that still carried Patrick’s comforting scent of lingering baby shampoo and chemicals from experiments, a preserved aroma that permeated the closet with warmth and safety.

“Pete,” Joe said. Pete glanced up from his laptop; he hadn’t noticed the open door until now. “Morning’s soon. You should go to sleep.”

_“Fine,”_ Pete groaned, stretching out against the closet wall, much like a cat arching its back before he lifted up the laptop and crawled out from under Patrick’s hanging clothes.

“What were you working on, anyway?”

“Planning,” Pete said, scrabbling off his knees to his feet with the laptop still in hand. “Consulting with other hunters on a forum for ideas of how I could get Beckett and Gabe.”

Joe narrowed his eyes at Pete. “That’s all you ever spend your time on these days.”

“Because I’m not going to fail on my third attempt,” Pete walked past Joe and flung his laptop onto the bed before he flopped down on the sheets too. “Third time's the charm, right?”

“So you’ve got a one-hundred-percent failsafe plan by now, then?”

“I _would_ if you tried to help me and hadn’t quit hunting.”

“That’s too bad,” Joe deadpanned. “Night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATION 1:
> 
> “He's a _thief,_ ” Diego said as soon as he answered, barely giving Gabe a chance to say anything. “William is stealing _everything._ Your life, your freedom, your control, your daughter, I could go on. What the fuck are you doing?”
> 
> “Papí,” Gabe sighed. He knew he should have expected this reaction from his father. “You're overreacting. It's my choice”
> 
> “It's not your choice. It's _his_ choice.”
> 
> “And deal with it,” Gabe hissed. “Because he's the father of your granddaughter and you can't change the fact!”
> 
> Diego fell silent, inhaling and exhaling to calm himself down before he said, “I know that I can't convince you, but… one day, I hope that you see how much he's hurting you.”
> 
> “Maybe,” Gabe said, although his eye roll was evident in his tone. “If that's all you want to tell me, I'll hang up…”
> 
> “Wait,” Diego said. “Even with everything going on, I want to invite you to our Rosh Hashanh party in a few weeks. We love you, mijo.”
> 
> Although Gabe already knew the answer to what he wondered, he asked, “Can William come?”
> 
> “No.”
> 
> Gabe sighed. “I'll think about it.”
> 
> TRANSLATION 2:
> 
> Gabe moved from the stove to the sink, where he’d set down his cell phone nearby, and answered. As Gabe gazed out the window above the sink, watching through the dimness as William and Brendon were forming the frame of a sukkah from the pile of wood in the back of the house, he said, “Hey, Papí. I'm sorry, I forgot about the party, but--”
> 
> “I understand,” Diego said, although the bluntness hardly seemed understanding. “I'm calling to ask you, why did you run away from William in the first place?”
> 
> “Papí, if you're trying to tell me I should run away again--”
> 
> “Just tell me. What was the cause of your realization?”
> 
> Gabe went silent, looking through the window and past William and Brendon, into the trees where he knew Vicky’s grave lay in the nearby clearing. Finally, he mustered up enough courage to say, “One of my friends died. Vicky. She's dead.”
> 
> “William _killed_ her?”
> 
> “No, it's… it's that…”
> 
> “So then William killed her.”
> 
> “It's not that, it was an accident. Vicky was a vampire, and a hunter killed her. I was scared and ran away, but then I realized… I was overreacting about the situation.”
> 
> “Mijo, if your friend is dead, you weren't overreacting.”
> 
> As Gabe still stared out the window, he caught William’s eyes and waved with a smile. Although it still made Gabe’s heart skip a beat to see his boyfriend smile while putting together a whole _sukkah_ for him, Gabe weakly waved back and turned away from the window to lean against the sink. Pressing the cellphone closer to his ear and eyes on the ground, he told his father, “You're right.”
> 
> Diego, seeming satisfied at least _that_ had gotten through to Gabe, said, “Shana tova, mijo.”
> 
> “Shana tova.”
> 
> \-------------
> 
> (Btw, shana tova isn't translated because that's a Hebrew phrase that pretty much just means happy new year)
> 
> (and small Spanish rant, but I don't like having to use estar for muerto and not ser? because isn't being dead technically a permanent condition but when I checked over it apparently estar is the right one to use for it? languages are stupid um anyways)
> 
> Gabe feeling weird about talking about Jewish stuff in front of William is literally me, I was highkey projecting onto him. Anyways, I wonder if any of you caught my hint as to what's going to happen next chapter? Which, I guess could be a variety of things because I'm building up to a lot, but I suppose we're gonna see? (there uhhh... may or may not be noncon in the next chapter? that's all i'll say, you've been warned, i'm sorry)
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: this chapter has noncon/is rape-y. I'm sorry in advance?? It's not fun. If you have to skip over that scene, please go ahead.

As soon as Sukkot passed by, it was Gabe’s birthday. William and Brendon had attempted to make Gabe a cake, but it turned out to be more of a lopsided mess of half-baked batter coated in uneven patches of vanilla icing, the top adorned with 21-shaped candles. It was the opposite of impressive, but Gabe grinned appreciatively anyway when William led him into the kitchen and dimmed the lights before he and Brendon sang Happy Birthday to him.

“...happy birthday, dear Gabe, happy birthday to you!” As soon as they finished singing, Gabe leaned onto the table and toward the flickering flames of the candles. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, deciding what to wish, before he opened his eyes again and blew out the candles.

When the flames went out, leaving the room dark and nearly shapeless, the sound of William and Brendon’s clapping and cheers startled Gabe, making him jump.

“Dude, you’re twenty-one!” Brendon exclaimed. “Let’s drink-- oh wait, right. Can’t do that.”

William glared at him, but it was unseen in the dark kitchen, at least until he reached over for the lightswitch. Under his breath, he hissed, “Brendon, really?”

“No, it’s fine,” Gabe said, forcing a smile. “Let’s just cut the cake.”

They moved to the dining room. As Gabe ate his piece of cake, slightly raw-tasting but bearable, he was silent or spoke sparsely when it came to conversation. William and Brendon took the hint, assuming he was probably just enjoying the cake instead of having emotions, and started to talk about their own very uninteresting things, like how William’s investment portfolio was faring this week and such.

Gabe had started to regret his decision not to invite his family over to celebrate or at least visit. He didn’t want to believe his father was right about the simple fact he hadn’t been overreacting about Vicky’s death, being the last straw before he’d ran away, but lately, it took so much effort to sort through such realizations so he wouldn’t make the same mistake of trying to run away again. He couldn’t afford to have doubts about William again, and yet they were still appearing out of thin air and threatening to hurt the relationship Gabe knew William was adamant to keep together. They’d sacrificed so much for each other, and yet there was an ache inside Gabe that told him it wouldn’t be enough.

Once Gabe had finished his slice of cake, Brendon pushed back his chair and stood up. “Well, I’m gonna go have a few drinks in the kitchen.” He gave both of them a suggestive wink. _“Have fun,_ you two.”

Brendon left the dining room, leaving just them and the empty plate on the table. William stood and slinked around the table to Gabe’s seat, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. His lips brushed against the skin below Gabe’s ear as he whispered, “So, Gabanti… you wanna receive your birthday gift?”

“Not tonight.” Almost immediately, Gabe tensed as he felt William’s displeasure radiate off him in waves, strong and unsettling. Timidly, he followed up with, “...Sorry.”

“But _Gabe,”_ William sighed. “It’s your _birthday._ We haven’t had sex in almost a week.”

“And we will soon, I’m just not feeling it tonight. We’ll pretend it’s my birthday tomorrow.”

“It won’t be the same.” William raised his lips to Gabe’s ear, grazing the top of it. “Please, Gabanti,” he whispered. “Don’t you want this? Don’t you want me to leave your hips so pretty and bruised and aching for days?”

“Tomorrow,” Gabe promised. “Okay?”

William pulled his arms off Gabe’s shoulders, an edge to his voice as he said, “Fine. Tomorrow.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“You don’t need to make excuses, Gabanti,” he muttered, taking a step back from Gabe’s chair. “Tomorrow is just fine, isn’t it? I’m just gonna get myself a glass of wine, we’ll talk later.”

As Brendon tipped the bottle of wine over the glass, dark red and nearly blood-like liquid sloshing out, William stormed into the kitchen and ordered, “Get me a glass.”

“Someone’s bossy tonight,” Brendon commented, but he put down the bottle anyway and grabbed another glass from the cabinet to fill up.

“We’re getting drunk tonight.”

Brendon raised his eyebrows at William, but looked back down at the glass as he finished filling it and said nothing more substantial than, “Sure,” as he pressed the cork back into the bottle. He handed a glass to William, who snatched it from his fingers and forced it roughly to his lips, tilting his head up as he gulped down the whole glass. When the glass was empty, William’s blazing eyes settled back on Brendon and he held out the glass. “More.”

Brendon obeyed and took the glass to fill it again. When he offered it out to William, this time he took it a little more gently and drank a little less greedily, giving Brendon the go-ahead to finally ask, “What’s wrong?”

“What’s _wrong_ is that Gabe has been such a bitch lately,” William snapped. He took another swallow of wine, relishing in how it burned hot in his stomach. “I’m trying to be better than before. All I want to do is have sex with him on his birthday. Is that really so fucking bad? I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to let him talk to his parents again, they must be trying to fill him with their crazy ideas again.” He took a swig of wine. _“Ugh.”_

“That’s too bad,” Brendon said, lifting his glass to his lips for a sip as he avoided eye contact, choosing instead to keep his eyes on the floor. He didn’t want to offer up any words that would only cause William to become even more pissed at either him or Gabe. “Probably doesn’t help that you’re calling the mother of your child a bitch, though.”

“Fuck off. If I can call Gabe a bitch when we fuck, I can call him a bitch when we _should_ be fucking.”

Brendon took a sip of wine. “Sure,” he said, voice small.

“Anyways,” William finished what was left in the glass with one last swig. “Remember when we used to fuck?”

Brendon spit wine back into his glass and glared at William, cheeks growing as warm as a vampire’s possibly could. “Um… we shouldn’t talk about that anymore.”

“And why not?” William cocked his head, toying with the stem of the empty wine glass between his fingers before his eyes landed back on Brendon, awaiting an answer.

“Well… you’ve got a pregnant boyfriend, for one.”

William set down his wine glass on the counter with a gentle _clink_ before he glided a few steps forward, stopping only when he was hardly an inch from Brendon. He laid one loose hand on Brendon’s throat, feeling the way his skin moved under his fingertips as Brendon gulped. William leaned close to whisper in his ear, “Remember when I turned you?” His other hand wrapped around Brendon’s wrist. “When I had you in chains in the basement and all you could do as you _bled_ and _bled_ was to whine my name like my cock was the only thing that ever mattered?”

“William, stop.” Brendon reached up for William’s hand on his throat, trying to push him away. William didn’t move his fingers. “You don’t want this. You have Gabe. You two will go back to fucking tomorrow like nothing ever happened.”

William’s eyes hardened. “Pretend I’m Ryan.”

Brendon gaped, blinking once before he choked out, _“Excuse me?”_

William’s hand lowered from Brendon’s throat to his shoulder. He took a step forward, forcing Brendon back until there was no more space between him and the kitchen counter. “I always knew about you and Ryan,” William said. “As long as your relationship didn’t interfere, I never minded, and then I had Gabe. You can’t keep secrets from me. But you must miss Ryan so _dearly,_ don’t you? Vicky, too?” William studied Brendon’s eyes, smirking as he saw the hurt from the memories cloud them. “When was the last time Ryan got you off, hm?”

 _“William,”_ Brendon warned, voice shaking. “This is seriously crossing a line, dude. You’re gonna regret it in the morning. Just get off me and go apologize to Gabe, okay?”

And then William’s lips were on Brendon’s, fast and pressuring, leaning more and more into Brendon until the back of his head slammed against the back of a cabinet. William’s hand loosened from Brendon’s wrist, moving to the zipper of Brendon’s pants. “I told you to _pretend I’m Ryan,_ and that’s what you’re gonna do, and we’re both going to just try to fucking enjoy ourselves on this abysmal night. Okay?”

Brendon nodded quickly. William kept his eyes on Brendon, staring dead into his eyes as he yanked down the zipper of his pants and pushed them down. His hand moved to cup Brendon’s cock through his underwear. A shudder rolled down Brendon’s spine.

“Close your eyes,” William whispered, cold breath on his ear. “And relax.” His fingers trailed up Brendon’s hips and grasped onto the waistband of his underwear, pushing it down slowly until his half-hard cock was exposed to the chilling air. William reached up to Brendon’s mouth. “Spit.” Brendon hesitated, but spat into his hand. “Good.”

William’s spit-covered hand moved back down to Brendon’s cock, wrapping his fist around it and starting to stroke up and down. Brendon stiffened and bit down on his bottom lip to avoid moaning, eyes clenched shut. He tried to do what William had told him, to think of Ryan, but he’d _never_ felt like _this_ with him. Ryan would never force himself on Brendon like this. Only William. Always William.

“You _missed_ this,” William said, but it came out as more of a demand rather than a statement. Brendon knew William was very much aware he didn’t miss it. “You fucking _whore.”_

Gabe’s horrified shriek came out of nowhere. “What the hell are you doing?!”

William snatched his hand away from Brendon’s cock and spun around, seeing Gabe standing in the doorway of the kitchen with his plate in hand. His eyes were incredulously wide, his jaw hanging open, his eyebrows raised high. Brendon straightened and scrambled to pull his underwear back up.

“Holy fucking shit.” Gabe shook his head slowly in disbelief. His eyes welled with tears, blurring his vision. “You’re _cheating_ on me?”

“Gabanti.” William’s tone was just as horrified, scared even, to be caught in the act. “I--”

The plate slipped out of Gabe’s fingers, shattering as soon as it collided with the floor. Ceramic shards flew across the floor. “Fuck you!” he cried. “I don’t want to have sex with you and you resort to fucking _Brendon?_ Mierda, why can’t you just be normal and jack yourself off or something instead of cheating on me? Is this all our relationship is to you?” His voice raised. “A huge fucking _joke?!”_

“Please, can’t we just--”

Gabe ignored William’s desperation and spun around on his heel to flee the kitchen.

As Gabe curled himself up in bed sheets soaked with his tears and snot, arms wrapped around his stomach as his baby’s foot incessantly thumped against his stomach, he couldn’t help but think this was his fault. This never would have happened if he’d agreed to have sex with William. This never would have happened if he didn’t listen to his father when he’d said he wasn’t overreacting to the situation and thus validated anytime Gabe felt like being distant rather than close to William.

It was _his_ own fault, Gabe thought. _His_ fault. If only he had been a better boyfriend. If only he was willing to give himself to William anytime he asked so he didn’t have to give Brendon a handjob in the next room over.

 _What a fucking_ great _twenty-first birthday._ It all felt empty now; the cake, the singing of Happy Birthday to him, the fact William had gone through the trouble of putting up an entire sukkah for him. They were all meaningless gestures that Gabe knew he never deserved in the first place. Did he even deserve to be carrying William Beckett’s baby if he couldn’t even stop him from fucking Brendon?

Gabe kicked off the bed sheets and rolled over, facing the dark window. He almost felt like he didn’t deserve it at all. No, he _knew_ he didn’t deserve it. Everything was a mess, and it was his fault and no one else’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guessed last chapter that William would go after Brendon... unfortunately you're right! If you had to skip over that part, I don't blame 'ya. Hope you guys sorta enjoyed the chapter and I'm really sorry?? I mean, it still gets worse. So.
> 
> Also if you wanna keep up with me, my twitter is @inpacithicctime and my instagram is @lostinpacithicctime.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave y'all hanging after... THAT chapter lol.

For two days straight, Gabe locked himself in the bedroom, refusing to come out to even eat. Whenever William and Brendon pressed their ears to the door, every time, without fail, all they heard was soft weeping or hysterical cries.

“Enough is enough,” William muttered to himself as he approached the door with a plate of spaghetti in hand. He inhaled sharply and pounded on the bedroom door. “Gabe? Open the door, I want to talk.” There was no reply, and William’s voice grew louder. “Gabe, open the door _right_ now or I’m going to have to break it down! You need to eat!”

For a few seconds, there was still silence, and William was preparing to put down the plate and raise his foot, but the soft click of the door being unlocked deemed extreme action unnecessary.

Gabe was silent; he opened the door slightly and then laid back down on the bed, facing the wall rather than William. He mumbled, “Just leave the plate on the dresser.

William entered the bedroom with caution, setting the plate down before he took a seat on the edge of the bed, his back to Gabe as he asked, “Can we talk?”

“You cheated on me.” His voice broke into almost a whimper as he repeated, “You _cheated_ on me. How am I supposed to live with that?”

“It’s all a misunderstanding, Gabanti.”

Gabe sat up on his elbow to turn his head, revealing his flushed and tear-streaked cheeks, and hissed, “I don’t think I could have misunderstood your hand on Brendon’s _dick!”_ before turning away again and crashing his head back down on the pillow with frustration.

“Listen to me, Gabanti,” William crooned, leaning back from where he sat to face the back of Gabe’s head. “Brendon never has and never will be _you._ That handjob meant absolutely nothing to either of us.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“I love you, Gabe. I love you _so fucking much.”_

“I’m sure plenty of people have said that to their boyfriends after cheating on them and it didn’t mean a damn thing. Do you think I’m fucking stupid? Of course I’m not.”

“If I didn’t love you, Gabe, do you think I would have left you alive when we met?” There was silence, and William took that as a sign to continue. “Do you think I would have stayed with you when I found out you were pregnant? Do you think I would have taken you with me to keep you safe when I killed your RA and when the police raided our house?”

Gabe wanted to believe it. He really did. But every time he almost felt like he could be persuaded by William’s words, he remembered the way those same lips that he had used to kiss were the same to call Brendon a whore. “That was all months ago.”

“You know I love you.” William began to comb his fingers through Gabe’s curls, slowly and soothingly. “Are you going to let one little incident like this make you forget that? Of course not. You’re _mine,_ Gabanti,” he cooed. “You’re always going to be mine. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I slipped up and I will _never_ do it again because I care about you. I never want to see you like this again, do you think I can bear seeing you lock yourself in a room and cry for days because of me? It’s _gut-wrenching,_ Gabanti.”

Gabe was silent and still for a few moments more before he rolled over to face William. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Gabanti.” William traced his fingers down to cusp his cheek. “You don’t need to apologize. I should be the one telling you sorry for tormenting you like this. I don’t know how I could ever make it up to you.” He lifted his legs onto the bed and laid his head down next to Gabe’s, looking him in the eyes as he said, “You’re _mine,_ Gabe. You’re _mine_ and words can’t describe everything I feel when I see your beautiful face.”

“Really?” Gabe asked, the corner of his mouth turning up into a weak smile.

“Really,” William told him, and he placed a hand on Gabe’s stomach. “We’re gonna be parents in only two months. Can you believe that, Gabanti? We’re gonna have a cute little baby girl that’ll look just like both of us.” William moved his head closer and stroked his thumb across Gabe’s cheek. “She’s gonna have your gorgeous eyes, and your gorgeous curly hair, and she’s going to be absolutely perfect because she’ll be ours.”

Gabe nodded, giving into William’s mention of the baby to suade him. “She will be perfect.”

Then William's eyes fluttered shut and he leaned in, pressing his lips to Gabe’s. And Gabe let him; he wanted to forget so badly this ever happened in the first place, that it was his fault in the first place for ever doubting William’s love for him. He wanted William’s soft lips nudging against his, reminding him he was _his,_ that he still _cared_ and he’d always _cared._

Gabe couldn’t help but wonder if he would still be with William if it wasn’t for the baby.

A pang of regret stabbed at him the minute he had that thought. Of _course_ he would still be with William if he hadn’t gotten pregnant, if they’d just been safe and used condoms; Gabe wasn’t just doing this because of their daughter. No fucking way. Even with their difficulties, he loved William.

And William loved him. He had said so, after all.

A few hours later, after Gabe had properly eaten, dried the last of his tears, and resolved to move on from this embarassing incident, his mother called, suddenly demanding to know whether he had a birth plan or a midwife.

“What? Why?” Gabe asked, sitting up straighter on the couch and preparing himself for the motherly speech he knew he was probably about to receive.

“I just had a _nightmare_ that your bastard boyfriend let you die while giving birth. You could be giving birth in a matter of weeks! Tell me the truth, mijo, do you have any plans for when you go into labor?”

“You’re calling because you had a nightmare? Mame, I’m not gonna die, I’m gonna be fine.”

“Not with _him_ around!” she accused. “Tell me, do you know _anything_ about what you’re gonna do?”

Gabe pursed his lips and finally admitted, “I haven’t really had the time to think about it…”

There was an exasperated sigh from over the line and _“¡¿Cómo?!”_

Between William cheating on him and… well, pretty much anything William caused, Gabe hadn’t really thought about what he’d do when he gave birth. All he knew was that William was going to turn him a few days after he gave birth, and that he’d probably give birth at home because no way was William going to walk into a hospital for Gabe again when the first time, when Gabe had passed out of blood loss in the middle of class, was risky enough. That was pretty much the extent of his thought process. “I’ve just been busy.”

“It’s William’s fault, isn’t it? That _hijo de puta--”_

“Calm down, Mame, it isn’t his fault. I’ll look into getting a midwife right away, okay?”

Relieved, she said, “Good, you better. Call me as soon as you find one.”

“Por supuesto, Mame.”

After thinking on his mother’s words for a few minutes, Gabe decided the sooner he talked to William about getting a midwife, the better, so he ventured in the hallway to look for him. However, as soon as he took a step out of the bedroom, he saw Brendon for the first time in days, the first time since he’d caught William giving him a handjob.

Brendon stopped at the top of the stairs. Each of them stared at each other in silence until finally, he worked up the courage to say, “I… I really should apologize, Gabe.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” Gabe said, although now all he could feel looking at him was a stinging in his chest.

“I should have tried to stop him,” Brendon said. “But… ugh, I don’t know… the way he put it, it felt like I didn’t have any choice. Fuck, I know how terrible that sounds, I should have tried to stop him, but--”

“Wait.” And then Gabe asked, “Did William… force you into it?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds nonconsensual… which… it kinda was.” Brendon nervously chuckled, but quickly stopped himself. “But I really should have tried to stop him. It’s all my fault, really. You should forgive William. It isn’t his fault, it’s mine.”

“Brendon…” Gabe could feel his heart shattering all over again, watching the poor man’s eyes water with tears. He gently reached out for his shoulder. “Brendon, are you--”

“No, I’m not gonna cry, I’m _fine.”_ Brendon sniffled and took a step back. Guilt weighed on him heavily. He felt like shit for shedding tears when Gabe, the one he knew was suffering more, was right there in front of him. “I’ll just… go. See you later.”

Brendon turned around and hurried away to his bedroom, flinging the door open and slamming it behind him. Gabe stood there for a few moments, filled with sheer disbelief that what William had done could be considered… well, he didn’t want to think about it, but in the back of his mind, he knew it wouldn’t be a stretch to say William might have sexually assaulted Brendon. Or even _raped_ him.

But Gabe didn’t want to believe it, even if it was the truth. He _couldn’t_ let himself believe it; if he did, it would only make his relationship with William all the more unbearable.

William wasn’t like that. William had never forced Gabe into sex. Gabe had always wanted it. Maybe William had misunderstood the situation with Brendon, and they’d be back to their old banter before they knew it..

So everything was fine, really. Gabe had stepped out the door to ask William about getting a midwife, and he wouldn’t ask William anything else tonight other than that.

Gabe walked down the hall to William’s office, where he guessed he’d probably be at this time of night, and rapped on the door. Immediately, William called out, “Come in!”

He opened the door to see William looking up from his laptop with a sweet smile. “I’m so glad to see you again, Gabe. Did you eat?”

“Yeah, the spaghetti was pretty good,” Gabe said, stepping inside the office and sitting down at a chair in front of the desk. The spaghetti was actually only half-cooked, and the sauce was cold, but considering it was the first meal Gabe had in a few days, it worked well enough. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

William nodded. “What is it?”

“I was thinking...” Gabe rested one of his hands on his bump. “Since we were talking about the baby earlier, we haven’t really thought about what we’re going to do when she’s born. We should look into getting a midwife.”

“A midwife?” William raised his eyebrows slightly, displeased by the idea. “I’m just not sure about it. A midwife would probably call the cops on us as soon as she connected the dots that I’m William Beckett, right?”

“I don’t know what else we’re supposed to do.” Gabe shrugged. He was confident that at least this was a disagreement he knew how to win. “None of us know anything about delivering a baby. The birth would be a lot safer if we had a midwife.”

“I just don’t know if we can risk it.”

Gabe narrowed his eyes at William and tilted his head, unamused. “William, I’d rather not die while giving birth.”

“You won’t die, you’ll be fine.”

“Even if it does go fine, are you really sure you’d be fine with pulling a baby out of my ass?”

 _“Christ,_ Gabe, do you have to describe it that way?” William leaned his hand against his forehead, pressing on his skin as if trying to soothe a migraine. “I don’t wanna think about _that.”_

“Yeah, and that’s why we need a midwife if you’re squeamish about me just talking about it.”

“But the risk--”

“If you’re so worried about a midwife calling the police, we _could_ always ask my dad to deliver the baby since he’s a doctor. Would you rather we do that?”

William only stared at Gabe in disgust, obviously repulsed by the idea, and finally cracked. “Okay, _fine,_ you can get a midwife!”

Gabe smiled. At least he would be able to have that small victory, because he wouldn’t have many more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no not Gabe being manipulated even more by William to forgive him... aha. That shit isn't good. And poor Brendon, too, damn.
> 
> Anyways, I am SO stressed with college right now since my finals are in a matter of weeks. Usually I post chapters in the morning before class and I finished editing the rest of chapters that remain (only five more omg!) so I probably will be able to keep up my weekly posting schedule, but if I'm ever late I'm so sorry.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys kinda-sorta enjoyed this chapter??
> 
> Twitter: @inpacithicctime  
> Instagram: @lostinpacithicctime


	41. Chapter 41

The first midwife appointment went surprisingly well, except for the fact that Gabe was purposely vague about any information about William and also that he was slightly chastised for calling this late in the pregnancy when he should have a _long_ time ago (even if that was by no fault of his own). But otherwise, as long as Gabe got to know his baby was doing well and was able to reassure his mother he was actually preparing for the birth, it was well worth it.

October became November, Halloween passing by practically unnoticed, and since it was only about a month until the baby was expected to come, Gabe decided now was a good time to start pestering William about getting a menorah for Chanukkah.

“Fine,” William grumbled, not looking up from his laptop as they sat in the living room. “You can go buy one tomorrow, if you want. I’ll let you use the car.”

“Really? I can use the car?” Gabe hardly believed the news. He hadn’t travelled on his own since he’d ran away. It wasn’t as if William had explicitly forbidden it, but there were some things Gabe didn’t dare to ask these days.

“By now, I’m sure everyone’s forgotten your face since you went missing,” William said. “It’s probably safe by now. I’ll give you the license for your fake identity later. Oh, and before I forget--” He pushed his laptop off of his lap and reached in his pocket, handing a brand new IPhone to Gabe. “I got you this so you don’t have to keep using that cheap burner phone. I’m using it to track you, so I’ll at least know where you are if anything happens.”

“Oh, thank you.” Gabe feigned a smile as he studied the new phone. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being tracked, but he supposed maybe it was a necessary precaution, considering their situation. “It’s really nice, I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.” William’s eyes drifted down to Gabe’s lips, but before he could try anything, he looked away and got back on his laptop to keep working.

They hadn’t kissed in weeks.

Gabe went to bed early and woke up the next afternoon to drive to buy a menorah at the nearest judaica store, which was about an hour’s drive away. The sunlight still felt unusual to him, even with all his attempts to enjoy it as much as he could before he never would again. He savored the way the warm sun bathed his skin and the car with its last bits of radiance before winter would soon set in, the fallen red and orange autumn leaves covering the road ahead as he drove through downstate’s skeletal forests.

He arrived at the judaica store sooner than planned, a tiny brick storefront in a shopping plaza, and stood for a moment when he got out of the car, glancing up at the blue sky. A cool autumn breeze came along, carrying with it the faint scent of crisp leaves.

And he was alone. All alone. It was a memory all to himself, a memory he wouldn’t have to share with William.

The cashier was extremely friendly and not at all suspicious of Gabe, a very good sign that maybe the danger of being recognized had passed. She showed him the display case in the back where all the menorahs were, all colored with gleaming shades of gold and silver or blue mosaic patterns. The corner of Gabe’s mouth lifted into a smile as he looked across all of them, thinking about all the memories he’d make with his daughter and William while lighting Chanukkah candles.

Then he remembered when he had seen William and Brendon in the kitchen together. That hand, moving up and down. That way William’s lips had shaped when he’d called Brendon a whore. Gabe’s smile dropped as he tried to push it to the back of his mind.

Gabe ended up picking out a silver menorah with candle holders that curled like branches, little silver leaves hanging off. As the cashier took it from the case to wrap and box it for him, he started to think about the drive home, and that thought led to another thought: he didn’t have to go home. He could easily throw away the phone William was using to know his location and just… _leave,_ drive anywhere he wanted. Maybe William would be fine if Gabe left. He did have Brendon, after all. When would Gabe have this chance again?

“Cash or credit?” The cashier’s strong New York accent shook Gabe out of his thoughts.

“Uh, credit,” Gabe said, and he fumbled for his wallet for the credit card William had given him. He knew he was just being silly, and his mind had wandered. He could never run away from William. It was impossible. So Gabe paid for the menorah, brought it to the car, and drove in the direction of home.

If he was being tested, Gabe knew what he would choose. William, _always_ William. There simply was no other choice.

When Gabe arrived back home, although it was hardly evening, the sun was already almost gone, abandoning him behind the horizon. As he shut the front door behind him, holding the boxed menorah carefully in his arms, he saw William in the living room and on his laptop, probably having just woken up.

“I’m back,” Gabe called into the living room.

“Oh, great!” William shut his laptop. “Show me the menorah, I was waiting to see it before Brendon and I go out hunting.”

Gabe set down the box on the coffee table, ripped the tape off, and gently lifted the silver, leafy menorah out of the white tissue box.

“It’s _gorgeous,”_ William gasped, in awe as he studied it. “You picked out such a nice one. Wait, I want to see what it looks like in the window.”

“Sure.” Gabe gave William a smile and he went to the window at the end of the living room, setting the menorah down on the table in front of it and clearing away a few books that cluttered it. He pushed back the thick curtains in front of the window, allowing the stars dotting the faintly purple sky to trickle light in and gleam on the menorah.

William came to the window, and as they admired the menorah, he said, “Imagine getting to light this menorah with our daughter next year. I can’t wait.”

Gabe let the image form in his head, imagining what it would be like in a year’s time as Gabe lit the same menorah and sang the blessings as William would stand next to him with their daughter in his arms, who would by then be a year-old, wriggling baby with tufts of dark curly hair and tiny fingers, with small, twinkling eyes mesmerized by the flickering light. The fantasy alone brought tears to Gabe’s eyes as he nodded.

“Gabe? Are you crying?” William asked gently, and Gabe nodded. “Aw, Gabanti,” he cooed, and he wrapped his arms around Gabe to hug him tight.

“I just can’t wait,” Gabe mumbled against his shoulder. “I don’t know why, but it just makes me so emotional to think about it.”

“Me too.”

Gabe pulled back from William’s shoulder and rested his forehead against his, each of them grinning at each other. And for a moment, Gabe forgot about everything enough to brush a strand of hair out of William’s face and press his lips to his.

The kiss was sweet and slow, William’s tongue only dipping into his mouth after a couple seconds had passed. Gabe had forgotten how it felt. The faint tang of iron in the back of his mouth, the sharp tips of his fangs when he ran his tongue under his teeth, the spit wetting each of their lips. It was like a return to normality, like forgetting, like a soft transition into something new.

And it didn’t escalate. William’s hands stayed where they were, and the force on Gabe’s lips didn’t intensify. There was no hidden ulterior motive behind all of this. It was purely romantic, purely love, and everything was alright.

After a few minutes of kissing, Gabe pulled back, light smiles playing on each of their lips before they eventually let their eyes flutter open again to gaze at each other.

“I love you,” William murmured, and Gabe murmured back, “Te amo, Bilvy.”

They stayed like that for a few more moments before Gabe eventually drew himself from William’s arms and asked, “Where’s Brendon? I wanna show him the menorah.”

“He’s around here somewhere,” William said, looking around. “I told him to come downstairs in a few minutes so we could hunt, so he must still be in his room.”

“I’ll go get him,” Gabe offered, and he turned around and left the living room to climb up the stairs. He went to the door to Brendon’s room and knocked. “Brendon? It’s Gabe.”

There was no response from within, so Gabe knocked again. “Brendon? You in there?” There was still nothing, and so Gabe slowly reached down to the doorknob and creaked open the door, hoping he wouldn’t be walking in anything incriminating. However, Brendon’s room was empty and dark. In the dimness, he could see the closet doors were thrown open, the bedsheets were on the floor, and the mattress had been pushed slightly over the frame of the bed. Something was off.

“He’s not in his room!” Gabe yelled out into the hall. William’s feet pounded up the stairs as Gabe took a step into the room and flicked the light switch on.

“Wh--” William trailed off, frozen when he saw the state of the room. In the light, it was easier to make out more, especially the empty clothing hangers littering the floor and the surface of the dresser, where there had once been Brendon’s hair straightener and a few other belongings, completely cleared. “Oh, oh _no,”_ he muttered under his breath, running toward the mattress and pushing it completely up to show the bare slats. “He kept his fake ID under the mattress. Brendon’s gone, he’s _gone!”_

“He couldn’t have gotten far,” Gabe tried to reassure him, watching as he paced around the disheveled state of the room. “It hasn’t been that long since the sun set.”

“You’re right.” William stopped, and he pivoted on his heels and ran out of the bedroom, clamoring down the stairs. “I’ll search the forest, you stay here in case he comes back!”

Gabe waited downstairs as he waited for William to return. He drifted from window to window to watch, hoping he would see a flash of dark hair in the moonlight in the distance; but he didn’t, only William’s lean figure weaving through the trees every so often. It didn’t feel real; Brendon had been gone for so long, thought dead before his return, and now he was gone _again?_

Admittedly, Gabe had been distant with Brendon since he’d tried to apologize, for good reason, and Brendon made quite a point to avoid William whenever he could, walking out of the room whenever he came in or insisting to William he could hunt alone.

But Gabe thought it would eventually get better, that it was all temporary, that one day they’d all forget what had happened. He recalled when Brendon had once told him he’d thought about running away, too, but then he’d said, _“I guess I just can’t live without William.”_ Brendon’s perspective had obviously changed since then, likely with the nonconsensual handjob and all.

After an hour, William finally returned to the house, draped himself over Gabe, and sobbed, “I can’t find him, I can’t _find_ him, I should have never… never…” William was cut off by more gasping cries, and Gabe nodded and rubbed his back through it in an attempt to comfort him as they hugged in the hallway. “I don’t understand, he’s just… he’s always been there for me! He came back after I thought I’d lost him and now he’s really _gone!”_

Gabe, even though his heart ached for William, felt a momentary bit of relief. If Brendon was gone, he couldn’t be reminded that William had cheated on him.

But if Brendon was gone, he was left all alone with William. _Alone_ with William. There was nothing to stand between the two, and it wouldn’t bode well.

Joe opened Patrick’s former closet to see Pete was in there again, as he expected, his features lit up by the blue glow of his laptop. Immediately, Pete groaned, “Dude, it’s not even that late yet!”

“No, I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

Pete nodded and pointed to the other side of the closet. “Sit there. And close the door, or Patrick’s smell will leave.”

Joe was pretty sure the closet barely smelled like Patrick anymore with how much time Pete spent in there, but he understood the need to cling to any last bits of their long-buried friend. He got on his knees, crawled to the space across from Pete, and pulled the door shut. “I just wanted to say, I know you’re really starting to get more serious about this whole _going back_ thing, and I know how dangerous it is to go alone--”

“You can’t stop me,” Pete stated. “I’m going, whether you like it or not. You’re not a hunter anymore. You don’t know anything about this.”

“No, the reason I’m talking to you is because I thought about it and… I’ll go with you.”

“Oh.” The reflection of the rectangular laptop screen glimmered in his eyes as he stared back at Joe. “You mean it?”

“It’s a suicide mission if you go alone. At least you have a chance if there’s two of us, right? And someone’s gonna have to tell everyone else what happened to your body when William kills you eventually, ‘cause you’re a dumbass and even if it’s clear he wins you’re just gonna go at him again and get yourself killed.”

A smile stretched at Pete’s mouth. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Joe said confidently. “We’re gonna _kill_ the motherfucker this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I give them one nice moment together and then Brendon's missing and Joe's agreed to help Pete go after William... damn. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Also, note: I'm probably gonna be able to post next chapter as normal on next Monday, but if I'm a few days late, please forgive me, because my finals are literally next week.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last night was so surreal and beautiful and now here I fucking am posting a chapter of my mpreg fic. Damn. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! ;)

Without Brendon, the house was noticeably much quieter than when he was already distancing himself from William and Gabe. The video game console in the living room started to gather dust. When it became clear he was never going to come back, one night Gabe found William in Brendon’s room crying into his bedsheets, and the next night throwing Brendon’s remaining clothes and belongings out of the window with rage while yelling, “Fuck you, Brendon, _fuck you,_ I gave you _everything!”_ as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Other than that incident, it was like Brendon had never existed in the first place; William made a point to avoid saying his name at all.

Gabe was noticing this silence as he was having yet another midwife appointment. There was hardly a sound in the living room except for the sound of the midwife’s pen scrawling down a few notes. When she put down the pen and spoke, her voice breaking the silence almost startled Gabe. “The baby could be coming at any time now since you’re nearly forty weeks and the baby is anterior. You’ve still been keeping track of your contractions, right?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t been having as many, though. I probably have several every few days, but they’re all really spread apart.”

The midwife nodded and picked up her pen. “Alright. Remember when the contractions are three to five minutes apart, that’s when you call me.”

“Right,” Gabe said. “Actually, before I do eventually go into labor… I should tell you about my boyfriend.”

“What about him?”

“Have you ever heard of William Beckett?”

“William Beckett?” She looked up. “Not in a while, since he and that… _oh.”_ Her face paled as she recognized Gabe’s face. “You’re the guy he…”

Gabe avoided her eyes, looking down at the floor. “Yeah. So… you probably should know there is a chance the baby could be a vampire?”

The midwife slowly nodded, her eyes wide and eyebrows still raised. “Um. Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. And… “ She leaned forward and whispered, “Your boyfriend, how is he treating you?”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s really great,” Gabe reassured her, trying to put on the best, most confident smile he could muster. “Everything’s awesome. Our relationship isn’t like anything how people think it is. We have a really healthy relationship. Everything is one-hundred-percent consensual. My family even knows I’m safe and everything. So there is absolutely no reason for you to call the police or anything, because everything is fine.”

Doubtfully, she asked, “You’re sure?”

“Completely sure!” Gabe said with a grin, hoping the cheeriness in his voice didn’t sound too forced.

“Well, if you’re sure, I won’t alert the authorities about it,” she said. “I’m just here to do my job. But you will let me know if you need anything, alright?”

“Of course,” Gabe agreed.

Only several days later, it was the first night of Chanukkah, and although Gabe’s contractions had become more frequent, happening every few hours, he reassured William that he doubted it was likely he’d have a contraction while momentarily holding a lit candle. So at sunset, they woke up early in order to light the menorah for the first night. Gabe sang the blessings, lit the first candle with the center candle, and then placed it back in its place. Gabe leaned his head on William’s shoulder as they watched for a few minutes as the candles glowed and dripped blue wax.

Eventually, William turned his head toward Gabe, smiled lightly, and whispered, “Happy Chanukkah.”

“Happy Chanukkah to you too,” Gabe took his head off William’s shoulder to press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m gonna go make the latkes now, are you okay with watching the candles until they burn out?”

“Sure,” William said. “And if you have any contractions while cooking--”

“I’ll be fine, Bilvy, don’t worry. I’ll tell you if I have any serious ones.”

“Okay,” William pressed a quick kiss to Gabe’s lips. “Let me know if you need any help.”

Gabe seriously doubted he’d need help, because William was a vampire and still sucked at cooking, but he still forced a smile and nodded. “Of course, but I got it.”

Gabe was sitting down at the kitchen table, shredding a peeled potato against a grater into a metal bowl when the third contraction since he’d started cooking hit him. He set down the potato and grater, resting his forehead on the back of his wrist and waiting for the pain to subside. Usually the contractions were only extremely uncomfortable, but tonight they were definitely becoming more than uncomfortable.

As soon as it finally ended, Gabe grabbed his phone to track the contraction in an app he had. There had been ten minutes between that contraction and the last one.

Even so, Gabe didn’t want to alarm William by telling him he was going into labor. Maybe he’d tell him after he finished making the latkes. He picked up the grater again and kept shredding the potato against it. When he finished that potato and started on the next, another contraction, much stronger than the last, came over him. The potato rolled into the bowl of peelings and the grater fell to the table as Gabe dropped them and groaned, the pressure more intense and rolling over him. It had probably been less than five minutes than the last one, which _definitely_ meant the baby was coming.

When the contraction finished and the pain lifted, Gabe grabbed his phone again and called out, “William, I think the baby’s coming!”

William was at Gabe’s side in the kitchen in less than a second. “Wait, really? You’re in labor?”

“The last contraction was less than five minutes after the last one,” Gabe handed his phone to William, who could hardly stay still with a sort of nervous excitement and kept bouncing back and forth on his heels as he looked at the phone.

“So then should we call the midwife?” William asked. “This is really it?”

“I think so.”

William handed the phone back to Gabe and said, “You call her while I help you to the bathroom.”

“I can walk fine, don’t worry.”

“But what if you have a contraction while you’re walking to the bathroom?”

Gabe figured it’d probably be better to just go with it to relieve a little bit of William’s anxiety, so he gave in. “Fine.”

William wrapped his arm around Gabe’s waist as they went upstairs, abandoning the mess of peeled potatoes in the kitchen to head to the en-suite bathroom of their bedroom. While William started to fill up the bathtub, which Gabe was planning on laboring and giving birth in, Gabe called the midwife and told her about the contractions. When he hung a few minutes later, Gabe said, “The midwife’s on her way.”

“Great.” William stood up from where he was sitting against the bath, watching as it filled up. “Do you wanna get in the bath now?”

“Sure.” With William’s help, Gabe shed the t-shirt and sweatpants he’d been wearing and stepped into the bathtub, sighing as he sank into the warm water. “The temperature is nice.”

“That’s good,” William said, sitting down beside the tub and resting his arms on the edge of the tub. He gave Gabe a soft comforting grin, and said, “I can’t wait to meet our baby girl. In only a couple of hours we’re gonna be _parents._ I can’t believe it. We’re gonna have a daughter!”

“I know,” Gabe grinned too, leaning his head back against the wall of the bath and lifting his arms from the water to fold them over his stomach. “I’m kinda nervous. I hope we’ll be good parents.”

“We will be, don’t worry,” William reassured him. “Oh, and I nearly forgot! Gabe, this means in a few days I can turn you into a vampire!”

The smile dropped from Gabe’s face. All the previous joy and anticipation he’d had disappeared, replaced by the heavy and overwhelming fear of the fact he was about to _give birth_ and subsequently become a _vampire_ in a few days’ time. “Oh. Right. I almost forgot about that.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry at all,” William lifted one of his arms from the rim of the tub to caress Gabe’s cheek with his thumb. “You’ve still got a few days to prepare.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Those few days are going to be busy, taking care of a newborn and all. Are you really sure that we should do it right away?”

“If I think it’d be too much, then we’ll discuss it,” William said. “But it won’t be. We can do it while the baby’s napping, and then I’ll take care of her while you turn. It’s not the best situation, but I want to turn you as soon as possible. It’s already been so long.”

“But I think…” Gabe was cut off by the sudden pain of a contraction, this time encompassing his body with the pain sharply centering at his pelvis.

William didn’t react. He kept his hand on Gabe’s cheek, his gaze on him turning cold and fingers becoming tense. Knowing fully well Gabe probably wouldn’t be able to respond in the midst of the contraction, William stated, “You’re going to be a vampire whether you like it or not, Gabe, and that’s final.”

The midwife arrived soon after that, distracting Gabe enough to temporarily forget the chilling words William had told him. After a few hours of rapidly building pain and some eventual screaming, Leora Rani Beckett was born on December 11th at 12:46 A.M.

Tears welled in Gabe’s eyes as he held his daughter to his chest, leaning the back of his head against the tile wall to catch his breath and process the overwhelming mix of emotions that he had just _given birth_ and here his daughter was, right on his chest and wailing out. After nine months of chaos, he and William were finally parents. _Parents._

“Mija,” Gabe whispered to the tiny baby in his arms, still in awe. A tear rolled down his cheek as he repeated, _“Mija.”_

William got to be the one to cut the cord, and after the placenta was delivered, they were able to get a better look at their daughter. Leora had tiny, squinting brown eyes, little dark curls of hair on her head, adorable little fingers and toes, and small and soft pink lips. Gabe thought she was perfect; absolutely _perfect._ He almost didn’t want to let William hold her. He wanted to keep her in his arms forever, but eventually he relented and carefully handed Leora to William.

They were back in the bedroom after the midwife had finally left, Gabe laying down as William sat beside him, taking Leora carefully in the light yellow cloth she was wrapped in. William smiled as he studied her face, her tiny and short little eyelashes, and hugged her to his chest, one hand on the back of her head.

However, William’s smile slowly dropped. Something wasn’t right.

“Bilvy, what is it?” Gabe asked, sitting up.

“She’s human,” William’s voice trembled. “She’s _human.”_

“She’s human?” There was an edge of hope to Gabe’s tone, and William scowled.

“Yes, she’s _human._ This isn’t a good thing! It’s dangerous, she’s only a baby. Anything could happen to her.” William closed his eyes and muttered, “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“But if she’s human--”

“Don’t try to tell me how this could possibly be good,” William interrupted. “It’s _not_ good. She’s _my_ daughter, Gabanti.”

“And she’s my daughter, too, and it’s not like there’s anything we can do about this,” Gabe said, and then William was oddly quiet. “Wait, you’re not--”

“Thinking of turning her?” William finished. “If that’s what I have to do, so be it.”

“She’s a baby!” Gabe scolded, and the sudden volume of his voice stirred Leora, making her start to cry. He held out his arms to take her back, and William hesitantly handed her back over. As Gabe cradled her to his chest, whispering, “No, it’s okay, mija, everything’s okay,” William looked away dejectedly.

When Gabe decided to try feeding Leora by lowering her to his chest, the crying stopped as she was too busy sucking. Now that it was silent, Gabe looked back up at William and said, “You’re not turning her into a vampire. At least not yet. We need to talk about this. Couldn’t we wait until at least after I’m turned? She was just born and you’re already being ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous,” William defended. “But fine. We’ll wait until after I turn you. But it _will_ happen, whether you like it or not.”

“Fine,” Gabe said. “Hand me my phone, I gotta call my dad to tell him that I gave birth.”

William took Gabe’s phone off the nightstand, but instead put it in his pocket. “You can call him tomorrow.”

“I need to tell him!” Gabe protested. “Our daughter is his first _grandchild._ I just gave birth, Bilvy, I need to call him and tell him that I’m fine. You told me you wouldn’t try to control who I talk to anymore.”

“I’m not trying to _control_ you--”

“Then give me my phone!”

“You talk to him too much!” William hissed. “Would it seriously kill you to wait until tomorrow?”

“I talk to him a lot because he’s my fucking _dad._ I want to talk to him about Leora _now.”_

“And you will tomorrow,” William promised, lowering his voice to be gentler. “I just think you should get some rest after all that. You’ve got to be tired, right? I’m only concerned about you, Gabanti.”

Gabe glared at him. “Fine. But you better let me call him tomorrow.”

“Of course I will, Gabanti,” William smiled. “First thing tomorrow, you can tell him all about Leora. But let’s just spend some time together for now and not have to worry about him, okay?”

Even though William somehow managed to make it sound reasonable by the way he worded it, there was still something about it that didn’t sit well with Gabe, but he nodded and meekly said, “Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Gabe gave birth and he can't have one good thing without William ruining it, of course. Sigh. If you predicted he'd die in childbirth, I apologize, because that's not what's going happen ;) Only three more chapters of this fic to go, I can't believe it!


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW FOR RAPE I REPEAT TW FOR RAPE
> 
> Idk if it's explicitly rape, but it's obviously... not super consensual. 
> 
> Also it's a longer chapter than usual, so get comfy. I apologize in advance.

Once William let Gabe call his parents, he insisted on Gabe putting the call on speaker even if they were speaking in Spanish and William couldn’t understand any of it. It went fine, for the most part, except when Diego had asked when he’d be able to see Leora and Gabe had quietly translated the question for William, he received the answer of, “Maybe in a few weeks.”

However, it was the only red flag Gabe noticed in their first few days of being parents. Leora kept them busy with needing constant feedings and diaper changes, and since William was cooperative enough with helping to take care of her, Gabe didn’t think he could complain if it meant he was getting at least some sleep.

It was four days after the birth and early in the evening, Gabe just starting to stir awake when he heard William’s voice in his ear whispering, “She’s asleep, let’s do it now.”

Gabe yawned and stretched out his legs, slowly blinking open his eyes to see William’s eyes narrowed at him as if about to pounce. Drowsily, he asked, “Do what, Bilvy?”

“Turn you into a vampire, of course.”

Gabe’s tiredness disappeared, replaced only by fear. He shot up to protest, but then William was on top of him, pushing him back down to the bed and pressing his lips against his hungrily. Gabe kissed back weakly before he stopped moving his lips at all, but it hardly deterred William. He tried to reach his hands to William’s chest to push him off, but he only moved his grip from Gabe’s shoulders to seize his wrists and kiss deeper.

Finally, William pried himself away and stated, “I know you don’t want to do this, but we have to, okay? The sooner, the better.”

“Maybe we should just wait a few more days,” Gabe said, trying to hide the rising panic in his voice. “I mean, I just gave birth, I don’t really think it would be a good idea to turn me and have sex _already--”_

“You’re just scared,” William crawled off Gabe’s hips, leaning over the edge of the bed to grab a coil of rope. “But you’re going to be fine, babe. I’ve done this a million times. Hold out your wrists for me.”

“You’re gonna _tie me up?_ But--”

“Don’t act so surprised, we’ve discussed this before.” William roughly grabbed Gabe’s wrists himself and looped the rope around them before tying it perhaps a little _too_ securely, causing memories to resurface of how Pete’s wrists had looked when Gabe had first found him in the basement. A surge of cold, clawing panic clawed up Gabe’s throat that he just barely managed to swallow back.

“Please, _Gabe,”_ William sighed, although he was already tying the other end of the rope to the bed. “Just _try_ to enjoy this. Just let me fuck you senseless and bite you and it’ll all be done and you’ll realize you’re making a big deal out of all of this, okay?”

Gabe gulped and nodded. His arms were already starting to ache, and the rope squeezed his wrists so tight he could already feel the tips of his fingers growing numb, but he didn’t dare tell William any of that. All he had to do was get through this and it’d be over.

“Good.” William smirked. “That’s what I wanna hear.” He yanked down the waistband of Gabe’s sweatpants and briefs in one tug, leaving Gabe exposed below him, and threw off his own shirt and undid his pants in a hurry. He leaned down to capture Gabe’s lips again, kissing him messily and tongue sweeping across his mouth. He sharply dug the tip of one of his fangs down on Gabe’s bottom lip, drawing blood that he licked at with a moan, filling Gabe’s mouth with the vile familiarity of the taste of iron.

As he sucked at the blood bleeding from Gabe’s lip, William drew his hands down Gabe’s chest and to his hips, where he raked the tips of his nails through the faded bruises, leaving claw-like cuts with trickling-off drops of blood that stained the bed sheets. The sharp pain was anything but pleasurable, but Gabe kept telling himself he was _fine,_ he could _get through this._

William was already hard, grinding his hips down on Gabe’s for friction and moaning into his mouth. Gabe hated himself for being unable to resist the urge to grind his hips up against his, too.

“Fuck, I just can’t wait,” William muttered against Gabe’s lips, finally allowing Gabe a chance to catch his breath. “I’m gonna fuck you now, I just can’t wait to see how gorgeous you’re gonna look covered in my blood. But don’t worry,” A wicked gleam in his eyes sent a shudder down Gabe’s spine. “We’ll do this plenty more times while you’re turning.”

Gabe didn’t beg. He didn’t moan William’s name. He only mumbled, “Okay.”

“You don’t have to worry about a thing,” William reassured him. “You’ve been so obedient so far. You’re doing so _well._ I can’t tell you how many people in your position have struggled and made it only more difficult.”

As William bit into his neck, sucking a few gulps into his blood so he could spit it onto his fingers to stretch him, Gabe wondered if Brendon was one of those people. He wondered if most of the deceased Dandies were those people. But the thought was quickly brushed off when he felt William’s warm and wet bloody fingers at his entrance, slipping inside of him and prodding at him.

“Could you be gentle?” Gabe groaned. “I still feel sore.”

“Gabanti, it can’t really be _that_ bad.” William pushed his fingers deeper, causing Gabe to wince. “You’ve had a few days to recover.”

“Please?” Gabe asked.

“Fine.” William huffed out a sigh. “I’ll be more gentle stretching you, but I won’t be when I’m fucking you.”

“But--” Gabe was cut off by another sharp soreness. “But why not?”

“Because I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” William scoffed. “I knew this was where we’d one day end up from the moment I saw you. You can’t seriously expect me to be _gentle.”_

“Fair enough,” Gabe eked out, although it didn't really feel fair. But at least William was gentler, taking a minute before adding a third finger and being more careful with the way his fingers moved, so Gabe supposed that was the best outcome he could have asked for in this case. It was a relief when William’s fingers found Gabe’s prostate; even though the soreness was still there, the partial pleasure helped to distract from it as Gabe moaned, _“Yes,_ there.” William brushed against the spot a few more times before he slowly slid his fingers out and positioned himself over Gabe, lining his cock up with his entrance.

“I know I said I wasn’t going to be gentle,” William said, “But I’m still gonna do my best to make this feel good for you, too. You trust me, don’t you, Gabanti?”

Gabe could make himself believe it enough to nod and say, “I trust you.”

“Good,” William said, and then he was pushing himself into Gabe, only emphasizing the ache even more. Gabe closed his eyes tight, digging his nails into his palms and curling his toes into the sheets, and tried to take a deep breath. He told himself it was going to be _fine,_ that William understood and he was _trying._ William loved him; William knew what he was doing.

When William was all the way inside of him, he took a few seconds to let Gabe adjust and leaned down to press a kiss to Gabe’s forehead. “This is all for you,” William assured him. “Not me, but _you._ You’ll remember that, right?”

Gabe tried to ignore the soreness and let out a strangled, “Yeah.”

William pulled his hips back and thrust them forward, slamming into Gabe. As William moaned, “Oh, _fuck,_ Gabe,” he didn’t seem to notice the way Gabe bit down on his tongue and inhaled a sharp breath to keep himself from letting out a cry of pain. William thrust again, and again, and again, and his moans kept drowning out all of Gabe’s distressed gasps and whines.

Gabe almost had the thought it was possibly the worst sex he’d ever had, but then William finally found Gabe’s prostate again and made it bearable, the pleasure balancing out the pain. “Mierda, William, there! Fuck, there!”

With a few more hard thrusts, the orgasm washed over Gabe, filling him with relief that at least this part of it was almost over. After another snap of his hips, William came too, moaning, _“Gabe, Gabe, Gabe,”_ with a sense of frenzied desperation.

When William pulled himself out of Gabe, he leaned back into his neck. He was absolutely ready to bite him and drain much more blood than he was used to, the tips of his fangs grazing Gabe’s skin when everything went dark.

The power had gone out.

“Fuck, right now?” William raised his head from Gabe’s neck, looking up at where the ceiling light was and waiting for it to turn back on, as if the power outage was just an accidental lapse. However, the darkness remained, and William rolled off Gabe. “This is just _so_ convenient,” he hissed under his breath, grabbing his underwear and pants to tug them up his legs. “Might be something with the breaker box in the basement, I’ll go check. And if it’s not, I’ll get some candles and we’ll just keep going with this anyway.”

Before Gabe could reply, the baby monitor went off with the static of Leora’s crying. “Could you untie me so I can check on her?” Gabe asked, relieved. He had _never_ been so thankful to hear her crying until now.

William finished with the button of his pants and reached over to loosen the knots of the rope, pulling Gabe’s wrists free. Even though they couldn’t be seen, Gabe could only imagine how red they were as he brushed his fingers over the rawness before William threw his underwear and sweatpants at him.

“Are you mad?” Gabe asked, crawling off the bed to pull his underwear and pants onto his legs. “I know how much you were looking forward to this.”

“Well, I guess everything can’t be perfect when suddenly you don’t have a bunch of other vampires to do everything for you.” William sighed. “But at least we got this far, right? In only a few minutes we’ll be back in here and pretend like this didn’t happen.”

“True.” Gabe pulled the waistband of his sweatpants over what remained of his bump, and he and William dispersed into the hallway, Gabe into Leora’s nursery and William to the staircase.

Gabe fumbled his way through the darkness until he found the familiar shape of the crib and was able to pick up Leora. At least she didn’t smell, so Gabe was relieved he wouldn’t have to figure out changing a diaper in the darkness. She calmed down in Gabe’s arms as he rocked her back and forth and whispered, “It’s okay, mija, it’s okay.”

She was just starting to drift back asleep when there was a loud _crash!_ and a familiar, gritty scream of, _“Fuck_ you, Beckett!” Startled by the noise, Leora started to cry again.

Pete was back.

Gabe put Leora back down in her crib, whispering, “Lo siento, mija, I’ll be back soon,” before he ran out of the room and through the dark hallway, tracing his hands against the wall to find where the railing of the stairs began. Once one foot found the step below the floor, Gabe was able to rush down the rest to the bottom floor. He could hear more clangs and metallic scrapes from the direction of the kitchen, so Gabe ran in that direction.

The kitchen was illuminated by a solitary, fallen flashlight on the floor, showing William and Pete’s shadowy figures as they fought. Pete had just pinned William to the wall, holding up the stake when Gabe stopped in the doorway and yelled, “Pete, no!”

Pete, taken aback by Gabe’s shout, froze for a mere second, allowing William to land a cracking punch against his jaw and make him stumble back. William wrestled the stake out of his grip and snapped it in half, throwing the now much-too-short pieces to the side before he grabbed Pete by his wrists, forcing them behind his back, and slammed Pete against the wall.

“Gabe, grab the chains in the basement!” William ordered, and Gabe didn’t have time to do anything but obey. He scooped the flashlight off the floor and ran for the opened basement door, which Pete must have gone through to access the breaker box. Gabe hurried down the stairs and threw open the unlocked and heavy door to the room in the basement, sweeping the light of the flashlight across the floor until he saw a clump of rusty metal chains.

He did his best to lift the heavy chains into his arms and struggled back up the stairs with them, stumbling into the kitchen and dropping the flashlight on the floor when he finally stopped. William quickly took the pile of chains out of Gabe’s arms with one hand, using the other hand to keep Pete’s wrists still as he tied the burdensome and cold metal around them.

“Thank you, Gabe,” William said, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. “That was close, wasn’t it?”

Gabe nodded in agreement as Pete screamed, “Let go of me, you bastard! Gabe, help me!”

William frowned at Pete and tugged him from the wall. “Back in the basement, you bitch,” he spat. “And this time, you’re not coming out alive.”

As William fastened Pete’s chains more securely and tethered him to the wall of the room in the basement, Gabe figured out the breaker box and turned the electricity back on. The basement lights flickered back on, casting their eerie and washed-out light back across the room.

When William was sure Pete couldn’t escape, he came back out of the room to where Gabe stood by the breaker box and wrapped his arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “You okay, Gabanti?”

“I’m fine,” Gabe said. “That was… scary. He just had the stake there to your chest and--”

“But then you were there, and everything’s fine.” William pulled back to press a kiss to Gabe’s cheek. “William Beckett doesn’t die so easily. Why don’t you go back upstairs and make sure Leora’s alright after all that?”

“Sure,” Gabe said. He was about to turn around, when he felt William’s hand on his shoulder.

“Wait,” William said. “We should talk. Do you remember when I promised you I’d only kill Pete if I had your permission, since nothing else was working to keep him away from us, to keep us safe?”

Gabe’s confusion only lasted for a brief moment until he remembered the time he had run away and William had found him, and they’d laid there on Gabe’s bed, and William had told him there was only one more option other than torture to keep Pete away from them.

There was no way Gabe could say no. He didn’t want to see Pete dead. He wanted Pete to be anything _but_ dead, just as long as he left them alone.

But Pete had held a stake to William’s chest. He’d broken into their house and turned off the electricity with the intent to kill William and Gabe and maybe even their only days-old, defenseless Leora.

Gabe held his gaze as he said, “You can kill him.”

William nodded, serious and grave. “Thank you, Gabe. I know how hard this must be. I’ll try to make it quick, okay?”

“Okay.” Gabe glanced at the door to the room where Pete was being kept, tears welling in his eyes as he realized that’d be the room Pete would die in.

“Now, you go back upstairs and I’ll be back up there with you in a few minutes, okay?”

Gabe didn’t say anything and turned back toward the stairs, climbing up them somberly until the sound of the basement door being gently shut was heard. As soon as William was sure he was gone, a villainous grin appeared on his face and he marched back into the room where Pete was held.

“So, Pete,” William’s voice seeped with sick anticipation as he loomed over the beaten and tied-up man. “You’re _back._ And I’m not going to make the same mistake as last time. Tonight, you’re going to die.” He bent down to look Pete in the eyes as he glared back at him. “But don’t worry, it’s going to be so long and painful that in a few short minutes, you’ll be _begging_ for me to kill you.”

After Gabe had ascended the basement stairs and closed the basement door behind him, he went back upstairs, threw on a shirt, and returned to Leora’s room. She had fallen asleep by now, although Gabe still felt bad about the fact he’d had to abandon her when she’d been crying previously. He watched her sleep for a few seconds, lightly smiling at her adorable little face in the dim nightlight, and then opened the curtains to look out the window. Right now, Pete was probably dying, maybe even dead already, and he could only comfort himself with the stars glistening in the sky.

However, as Gabe’s eyes fell from the sky to the view of the driveway, he saw a car there. He thought nothing of it, knowing it was probably Pete’s, until he saw someone get out and stalk toward the back of the house.

Joe. He was here, too, and Gabe had to stop him.

Gabe raced out of the nursery and through the hall, clamoring down to the stairs. He reached the kitchen just as he saw the backdoor being thrown open by Joe. Pete must have left it unlocked, knowing he’d be captured.

Joe stopped when he saw Gabe, and narrowed his eyes at him. “Get out of the way.”

Gabe didn’t get out of the way. He ran toward him and swung his fist at Joe, causing his head to collide with the wall with a _bang!_ However, Joe quickly recovered. He grabbed Gabe by his shoulders and shoved him out of the way, with ease considering Gabe was weak from having just given birth and almost always constantly suffering from blood loss.

Gabe’s back thudded against the wall. A glass tipped over a shelf from the impact and fell, just barely missing him before it shattered on the floor. Joe rushed for the basement door and threw it open, but before he could take a step down, Gabe shot up and threw himself at Joe, screaming, “Don’t you fucking _dare!”_

His weight pushed Joe’s feet off balance. They both tumbled down the stairs, only stopped when Joe hit the railing of the landing. He quickly crawled down the rest of the stairs, and Gabe crawled after him, trying to grab his foot but only succeeding in pulling off a shoe. He tried hitting the back of Joe’s leg with the shoe, but it didn’t do anything in deterring him even as Gabe pleaded, “Stop, stop it! Don’t try to kill him!”

When Joe reached the floor, he scrambled to his feet and ran for the door that had been left open, grabbing a stake from his side. Gabe was able only to get to his feet then, but he was too late when he reached the door to stop Joe.

William had already turned away from chained-up Pete, whose lip was split and blood and jaw bruising, and he had been anticipating Joe’s attack from the ruckus on the stairs. However, instead of trying to attack, Joe stopped and dropped his stake, rolling it toward Pete. He was about to reach for another stake, but then William jumped on him, toppling Joe to the ground. “Pete, help!”

“You fucking _bastard!”_ William’s nails ripped through the sleeves of Joe’s jacket and into his skin, blood swiftly welling up to stain it. “You think you can fucking kill me?” His palm stung Joe’s cheek as he slapped him. _“Pathetic!”_

The length of Pete’s chains had been just enough to allow him to grab the stake with his teeth from the floor. Gabe had rushed forward while William had pinned Joe down, trying to pull the stake from Pete’s teeth, but Pete kept his teeth clamped down on the stake tight as he tried to pull his wrists from the wall, yanking and yanking at the chains until there was a heavy _clang!_ and the ring the chains had been tied to was ripped off the wall. Gabe jumped back at the noise, letting go of the stake and leaving it in Pete’s mouth. With the chain loose, Pete managed to wrest one of his hands free of the knot behind his back and grab the stake from his teeth.

Pete scrambled across the floor and raised the stake. Gabe’s cry of, “Bilvy, watch out!” came too late; just as William’s teeth were nearing Joe’s neck, the stake was plunged through his back.

William froze, his hands and knees shaking underneath him before he fell off Joe and on his back on the floor. A pool of blood seeped out from underneath his back.

“William!” Gabe screamed, pushing Pete aside as he hurried to William. “William, _Dios mío!”_ He grabbed his hand, clutching it tight and trembling.

William’s face grew paler than Gabe thought it ever could as his blood left his cheeks, instead soaking the knees of Gabe’s sweatpants. One last time, he whispered, “Love you, Gabanti,” before his eyes became glassy and his head dropped, and he was suddenly very still.

William Beckett was dead.

Gabe started to sob, holding William’s hand to his cheek as he struggled for his breath and gasped out, “No, no, _no!_ William, wake up, wake up, don’t fucking die! No, Leora needs you, I need you!”

Pete and Joe watched from where they were in a stupor, frozen on the floor. It was over. Pete had finally killed him.

“You fucking bastards!” Gabe’s head snapped toward them, his eyes bleary and red from crying. “You fucking _killed him!_ How could you, you… hijos de putas, holy shit, you killed him! He was supposed to turn me! He was supposed to see our daughter _grow up_ and we should have gotten _married_ and it’s all gone now!”

“And we should have done it a lot fucking sooner.” Joe scowled, and he got to his feet. “Just kill him and we can get out of here, Pete.”

“Yeah, just fucking kill me!” Gabe yelled at Pete, who was still dazed. “And why don’t you go fucking kill the baby upstairs while you’re at it, too? Go ahead, Pete, kill me and the baby who never did shit to you!”

Pete slowly sat up straighter and shook his head. “I… I can’t. You’re still human, Gabe.”

“Then just get the fuck out of here!”

“Gabe…”

“I said, _get out!”_

Pete got to his feet, and before he could say anything else, Joe grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out. He forced Pete to follow him up the stairs, through the messy kitchen, and out the back door to the car, where he finally stopped and let go of Pete’s arm.

They both stood there in silence, staring at each other’s battered faces until Pete finally said, “I thought I’d feel better about this.”

“You’ll feel better about it tomorrow,” Joe opened the car door for Pete. “We should get out of here.”

“We should,” Pete half-heartedly agreed, climbing into the car. When he was in, Joe slammed the door behind him and then got into the driver’s seat.

“I think they’d be proud of us,” Joe said as he started the car.

“Who?”

“Patrick and Andy, for one,” Joe said. “And Travie. And maybe Vicky. And everyone else he wronged.”

Pete slowly nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I hope they would be.”

They sat in silence for another minute as Joe pulled out of the driveway and turned the car onto the road, until Joe said, “Can we stop for milkshakes? I almost died, I think I deserve it.”

“Yeah, whatever, man,” Pete said, turning his head to look out the window so as to hide the tear rolling down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really, really sorry for this chapter :'( I almost cried while I was writing it.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This a LONG chapter. Like, I think around 6000 words long. I considered splitting it up but honestly it all kinda just feels like it has to be together, so get comfy I guess? It's kinda heavy chapter, so be prepared for that.
> 
> Also some parts of the chapter might feel fragmented and kinda different? I doubt anyone's going to notice or care because it's not that huge of a difference but in case you do, I was just trying to reflect how I think Gabe would be thinking when he literally just saw William die right in front of him.

He was gone. William was _dead._ Gabe couldn’t believe it.

It didn’t feel real. It felt like the numbness of a vivid and horrific nightmare after one too many drinks. William’s blood coagulated, growing sticky and dry on Gabe’s fingers as he wept over the motionless body on the floor. _William’s_ body.

Gabe wished he’d tried harder to stop Pete and Joe. He could have tried harder, so much harder, and William would be alive and everything would be okay. He wished he’d been more cooperative with William, more forgiving. His last hour spent with William was spent thinking about just getting sex over with and Gabe was overcome with guilt for taking it for granted.

Everything was ruined. Gabe and their daughter were left alone and human, so utterly human and defenseless. Pete had won. Pete had gotten what he wanted; destroying their family.

Gabe knew as long as he lingered around William’s body, he would never stop crying. He pressed one last kiss to William’s freezing cheek and choked out, “I love you too,” between sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. I’m going to take good care of Leora, okay? I love you, Bilvy. I love you.”

He rubbed his thumb over William’s cheek fondly, smearing blood, and studied the features of his face one last time. His sharp jaw, the indent in his chin, the long strands of brown hair that framed his face, the fangs beyond his soft parted lips. Then, Gabe got to his feet, hesitant to leave before he turned and trudged out of the basement. Going upstairs felt like abandonment.

The kitchen was still a mess from the fight. Shattered glass spilled across the floor, the pots and pans on the dented stovetop were in disarray. A spray of blood had stained the curtain. Gabe realized only now the sharp, throbbing pain in his foot as he carefully crept through the mess. At some point during the struggle, a shard of glass had embedded itself in his foot. He told himself he would take care of it after checking on Leora, although all he wanted to do was lie down and take a nap and momentarily forget.

Leora was crying. Gabe fed her as he sat in the chair in the corner of the nursery, near to the window. Outside, he could see the orange of the sun sweeping over the horizon. He used one hand to push open the curtain. It’d been a while since he’d been able to do that; open a curtain during the day.

After burping the baby with half-hearted and tired pats, Gabe laid Leora back down and dragged his feet to the bathroom. He tried to use a pair of tweezers to get the shard of glass out, but he couldn’t get a firm grasp. His hands were shaking. He dropped the tweezers on the floor. What was the point? William was gone. William was dead in the basement.

Gabe didn’t know what to do next. Leora was asleep, blissfully unaware her father was dead. There was a body in the basement to be taken care of. He wanted to cry and cry and cry. He needed someone to cry with.

He made his way to the bedroom to grab his phone and call his dad. It was early in the morning, but even so, Diego picked up quickly. “¿Qué pasa, mijo?”

A dam broke, filling Gabe’s eyes with sudden tears. His voice trembled meekly as he said, “William es muerto.”

A long pause. Then, Diego asked, “¿William es _muerto?”_

Gabe sniffed. “Sí.”

Diego’s voice was gentle. “Dime, mijo, ¿qué pasó?”

And so, Gabe explained everything. He told him about Pete, how he’d been stalking them for months on end and it all culminated in when he’d broken into the house with Joe and cut out the lights, and now William was dead in the basement. He left out the part where William had tortured Pete for months on end.

Diego said he’d come over right away.

When Diego finally arrived at the house a few hours later, it all felt like a blur. Gabe met him at the door and hugged him when he saw him, and he let him cry into his shoulder for who-knows-how-long before there were absolutely no tears left to cry. He was able to meet Leora for the first time and hold her in his arms for the first time. Gabe wished the circumstances were better. What was supposed to be a joyful and picture-perfect moment of a grandfather meeting his granddaughter was ripped away by the tragedy of William’s death.

Eventually, Gabe took Leora back into his arms and Diego asked where the basement was. Gabe stayed at the top of the stairs with Leora as Diego went into the basement to see the horror. Even he seemed somewhat sorry when he ventured back up.

“Mijo, tenemos que llamar a la policía,” he said.

Gabe didn’t look back up from Leora’s wide and curious eyes to his father, and instead he just kept rocking her in his arms. “¿Tenemos que hacerlo?”

Diego slowly nodded. “Sí.”

Gabe muttered, “Okay.”

Gabe didn’t talk to the police much when they arrived. He held onto Leora tight, afraid to let her go or put her down as he gave all of the officers’ questions with short and vague answers. He showed them the door to the basement. He showed them the patch of dirt where Vicky was buried outside. They took blood samples, just to make sure Gabe and Leora were as human as they claimed, and although he knew it was necessary, Gabe couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt when he heard his baby wailing as the blood was drawn.

The question came of what was to be done with William’s body. The police found the numbers of William’s parents and called them right then and there as Gabe sat in the living room, sunken into the couch with Leora as officers zipped around the house. He could hear the officer saying, “Mr. Beckett? I’m Officer--” Then the officer stopped, cut off mid-sentence by who was probably William’s father, and tried to explain, “Well, I’m calling because your son is dead. I’m so sorry, sir.”

Gabe exchanged nervous glances with the officer on the phone before he seemed to be taken aback by whatever William’s father was saying. “Sir, but--” The officer stopped and lowered the phone from his ear and leaned over to whisper to another officer, “Beckett’s father said he doesn’t want anything to do with him.”

So William’s body fell to Gabe’s responsibility. He asked Diego if they could bury William in a Jewish cemetery. Although it was clear Diego thought William was anything but worthy of being buried in a Jewish cemetery, there was no way he could break Gabe’s heart by refusing.

Gabe went home with his father, and after the proper investigations had been done, William’s body was shipped to New Jersey and prepared for burial. In the days leading up, Gabe didn’t watch the news or pay much attention to his phone. Every day he simply woke up, took care of Leora, cried, ate breakfast, took care of Leora, cried, ate lunch only after Ilana told him he had to, took care of Leora, cried, ate dinner, took care of Leora, and went back to sleep. The only variation he had in his schedule was when he looked for the box he had of pictures and newspaper clippings of William that had been in his closet, but found it was gone and cried for an hour more than usual.

Gabe sometimes wished William had been able to turn him. Sometimes he wished he had thought to lick William’s blood off the floor. Gabe was alive, but barely living. Maybe the thrill of killing would have provided a distraction. He didn’t know. All he knew was that he was human and miserable and that it was snowing outside and he didn’t want to light the Chanukkah menorah with his family and he just wanted to stay in his cold bed all alone and heave with sobs whenever a brief memory of William flashed across his mind.

He didn’t think he could ever let go.

It turned out William had quite a lot of money he’d left to Gabe when his lawyer contacted him about his will. More than Gabe knew what to do with. He didn’t want to think about it. He kept crying as usual while his father took pity and managed the financial matters for him.

The day of the burial came. Gabe’s arms felt empty without Leora since his mother had offered to babysit her during the burial. The only people surrounding the grave were Gabe, Diego, Ilana, and his brother, Ricky. That was about it besides the cemetery workers. Nobody from William’s family. Nobody from the few scattered and living Dandies. It was eerily silent except for Gabe’s soft weeping as he looked down at the wooden coffin and knew that was where William’s corpse would be contained for many more years.

Gabe clutched onto his father’s arm for support as he sobbed harder. He didn’t know how much more crying his body could take at this point.

When Gabe’s sobs had subsided enough for him to speak, he lifted a tissue from his nose and choked out, “I’m sorry, William.” A tear rolled down his cheek. “I’m so _sorry,_ I’m so _sorry._ I should have tried harder, I shouldn’t have let them kill you--” He was cut off by his own wheezing intake of breath. “This wouldn’t have happened if I’d never met you! You should have just _killed_ me when you met me! You’d still be alive if you had, _why_ didn’t you kill me? I’m nothing!”

Diego, Ilana, and Ricky glanced at each other uncomfortably while Gabe cried. They silently decided that now wouldn’t be the best time to say something about it. They’d suggest therapy later.

It was difficult to tear Gabe away from the coffin. He’d already used up a whole pocket-sized pack of tissues and more. However, they had to leave eventually. After Gabe had finished another disturbing confession of, “I should have forgiven you after you cheated with Brendon, I should have tried _harder_ to be a better boyfriend,” a few seconds previous, Diego laid a hand on Gabe’s shoulder and gently suggested, “Mijo, we should leave soon.”

Gabe nodded and wiped at his wet cheeks with the back of his hand. He looked down at William’s coffin one last time before he turned and left.

Later that night, Gabe had holed himself up in his room again, staring at the wall after he’d finished another bout of crying. It took him a few seconds to snap out of his stupor and realize his cell phone was ringing. He picked it up, about to dismiss the call from the unfamiliar number, but then he saw the number was from Chicago. If it was Pete, Gabe suddenly found the strength to sit up and answer, ready to yell at him for what he’d done.

However, when the person on the other end of the line said, “Hey, it’s Ryland. Did I get the right number?” Gabe immediately calmed down, thankful he wouldn’t have to face his boyfriend’s killer tonight.

“Yeah, it’s the right number,” Gabe said. “How’d you get it? It’s been a while, dude. How are you?”

“Your dad found my student email somewhere and gave it to me. Oh, and Alex and Nate are here, too.” Gabe heard Alex and Nate say, “Hi!” simultaneously before Ryland spoke again. “We’re doing okay. How are you? We’re… really sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks.” Gabe wiped at a tear in the corner of his eye and managed to hold his voice steady. “It’s been hard. William only got a few days with Leora before he was killed. I know you guys are friends with Pete… but fuck, I just… _hate_ him.”

“We haven’t talked to him since we left him in New York, so you can say whatever you want about him. Even though we were originally trying to help you out, I wish we hadn’t. I’m so sorry. Although William was… _William,_ I’m not even sure how I feel about this. Especially since we heard that Joe had killed Vicky.”

“Vicky’s funeral is this weekend, by the way,” Nate said. “Do you think you’ll be able to fly out for it?”

“No.” Gabe sadly shook his head. “Even if I didn’t have Leora to take care of, I don’t feel like I’d be welcome. It’s my fault in the first place. _Everything_ is my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten you guys mixed up in this shit. So many people are dead because of me.”

“You didn’t know what would happen,” Ryland said. “It’s not your fault anyone’s dead, okay?”

But Gabe knew full well it was his own fault. Even if he hadn’t directly caused Vicky’s death, he knew he had been a bystander while Patrick and Travie and _William_ had died right in front of him. He knew he could probably attend Vicky’s funeral since his parents would be more than happy to take care of Leora, but he knew going would just make his guilt worse than it already was. “I don’t know if my dad would be okay with me travelling alone right now,” he lied. “I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s okay,” Ryland said. “She’d understand.”

Gabe knew she _would_ understand. She was there for him when the rest of his friends were distrustful of his relationship with William and the pregnancy. And the fact that she would understand worsened the guilt, because she shouldn’t have understood in the first place. “I guess.” He paused, not sure what else there was to say, and decided to change the topic. “Anyways, on a lighter note, maybe I’ll visit Chicago sometime soon. You guys could meet Leora. It’d be like old times… almost, right?”

“Yeah, that’d be super cool,” he heard Alex say, and Ryland said, “You should, that’d be awesome. I’m guessing you’re not gonna come back to college here, will you?”

“No, I have no idea what I’m doing yet,” Gabe said. “Maybe I’ll start going to school again here, probably when Leora’s a little older.” He didn’t think getting his degree would hurt if he at least didn’t have to worry about student loans anymore thanks to his inheritance from William.

“Cool. Well, if you’re ever in town, then--”

Gabe dropped the cell phone and clasped his hand over his mouth, shooting up from his bed to race to the bathroom. He flung open the lid of the toilet and fell to his knees, vomit rising in his throat as he coughed hard and began to throw up. He had no idea why the sudden nausea came over him. Maybe it was a result of crying so much, or a result of the sickening guilt that kept building up.

Eventually, Adrian passed by the open bathroom door, just stared at Gabe vomiting for a second while unsure of what to do, and finally called out, “Gabe’s throwing up!”

Gabe knew his younger brother had good intentions, but he did _not_ want the extra attention. He’d already had enough concerned questions today. Still, he accepted Ilana’s help in wiping off his face and shirt, and her offer to help take care of Leora for the rest of the night.

Gabe got a full night’s sleep for once, too exhausted by the heavy emotions of the burial and throwing up and taking care of a baby for insomnia to so much as touch him. He didn’t wake up until afternoon. It was nice.

Because he was well-rested and not about to cry, he decided to touch his old laptop for the first time in a while. He hadn’t used it since he’d left it when abandoning his dorm room, and he felt a strange sense of comfort at seeing a half-finished paper about philosophy concepts he didn’t even remember when the screen lit up. If he narrowed his eyes on it, he could pretend for a brief second that he was still in his dorm room, that William was still alive and not as many people were as dead.

He closed out of the document and curiosity got the best of him as he went on Tumblr. Although he had deleted his account a long time ago, he still recognized many of the usernames that popped up when he searched up the William Beckett tag. By now, news had certainly spread about his murder.

The tag was cluttered with many pictures of William Beckett with captions that said things such as, _**rip bilvy i guess i can’t have him kill me now :’(**_ or, _**look, i know he killed like thousands of people but there’s more to him than that! mourning vampires is 100% valid and self-care okay???**_ There were a few posts showing sympathy toward Gabe and their child, which was comforting. At least there were some people supporting him.

However, as Gabe kept scrolling deeper, the sympathy posts became less common and he remembered just how disturbing the fandom could be. There was a post that said, _**ok but who’s gonna fuck gabe/njbeckettfan now?? bc i’ll take one for the team ;) i’d ride his dick ANY day!**_ Another user had posted, _**guys rmbr when we found william’s childhood home? we NEED to find his grave if i can’t see it i’m gonna sdffgghjjkhgf**_

Gabe was definitely not particularly pleased by those posts, but what sent a stab of nausea to his stomach was a post by bilvy420 that said, _**if william’s daughter looks anything like him, i can totally wait 18 years if u know what i mean ;)**_

Gabe slammed his laptop shut and tried to see if he could swallow back the vomit rising in his throat, but he couldn’t. He had to run to the bathroom and kneel over the toilet yet again. He couldn’t believe the audacity of someone he had once _met_ to post something like that about his daughter. All the uncertainties Gabe had attacked his mind at once. Would William’s fans try to stalk him? Would they stalk _Leora,_ just because she was William’s daughter?

Maybe William was right when he said they’d be safer as vampires. At least Gabe would have been able to kill anyone who threatened him and his daughter. All he could do as a human was try to protect his identity and file a restraining order if anyone found them.

When Gabe leaned back from the toilet with a groan and grabbed onto the bathroom counter to help himself up onto his shaking legs, he heard his father shout from down the hallway, “¡Gabe, tu celular está sonando!” and the faint ringing of his cellphone.

“Okay!” Gabe yelled back. He didn’t want anyone to know he’d thrown up _again,_ so he quickly flushed the toilet and rinsed out his mouth before running back to his room. Leora was back in her bassinet by Gabe’s bed, staring up at him curiously as Gabe picked up his phone. It was an unknown number from Chicago, and although he had no idea if it would be the person he least wanted to talk to, he answered. “Hello? Who is this?”

“Is this Gabe?” a female voice asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m Courtney. William’s sister,” she said.

Gabe froze. He had no idea what to say but, “Oh. I’m… so sorry about your brother.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry, too.” There was a silent pause until Courtney spoke again. “I know William and I grew apart after he became a… _vampire,_ but I want to ask if there was any way I could come and visit, to meet my niece and see where William is buried.”

“Sure, that’s totally fine,” Gabe said. He looked back down at Leora, who blinked at him. “I’m sure Leora would love to meet you.”

“Is that her name, Leora?” Courtney asked. “It’s really pretty.”

“Yeah.” Gabe couldn’t help but smile as he remembered when he and William had decided the name. “Her name is Leora Rani Beckett.”

A week later, Gabe was at the airport, the interior bustling with people due to holiday travel since it wasn’t long until Christmas. He had Leora in a sling across his chest, keeping an eye out for Courtney since she’d texted him that her flight had landed. She was easy to recognize when he saw her in the crowd, being that she shared many of William’s features and frame. After she had put down her suitcase and said, “Hi! How are you?” while lightly hugging Gabe, careful not to squish the baby, Courtney looked down at Leora’s face and studied her. Tears formed in her eyes as she said, “She looks just like him.”

The first place they drove to from the airport was the cemetery where William was buried. The grass and gravestones were covered in a light dusting of snow by now, the wind frosty and biting with every gust. Although Gabe had Leora bundled up in an adorable pink jacket, thick mittens and a white knit hat, they wouldn’t be able to stay very long. He was secretly glad for the temperature; he didn’t know how long he’d be able to handle standing at William’s grave.

After trudging across the thin snow and the murky, muddy ground, they found William’s grave. _William Eugene Beckett Jr., February 11th 1985 - December 14th 2020._ It stood out in stark contrast to the other graves since there wasn’t as much Hebrew on it, but hopefully no fans would think to search Jewish cemeteries, anyway.

They stood at the grave in silence for a minute until Courtney reached up to wipe a tear from her cheek and softly said, “I thought I was done crying over him.” She sniffled and rubbed at her eye. “I guess not.”

Gabe nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Courtney drew in a breath and exhaled. “I miss him. I wish I’d have tried to get in contact with him before all of this, but my parents… they didn’t think it’d be a good idea. They said he was dangerous. That’s what my wife said, too. He didn’t do anything but bring unwanted attention to us.”

Gabe remembered about a year ago when he had participated in the trend of taking pictures in front of the Becketts’ house and subsequently been yelled at by Courtney. Although shame washed over him, at least it seemed like she didn’t remember Gabe out of the many who she’d probably caught in the act.

“I hadn’t seen him since I was in middle school,” Courtney continued, and then she turned to Gabe and asked, “What was he like? When you knew him. He wasn’t as terrible as everyone thinks he was, was he?”

Gabe shook his head. “No, he wasn’t that awful,” he lied. He knew there was no way he could tell Courtney about all of William’s flaws such as his possessiveness, cheating on him with Brendon and without consent, the way he made him feel insecure for being a weak human. That would hardly bring comfort. It’d be better if Courtney remembered William the way she wanted to see him, the way Gabe wished he could see him.

“I thought he was going to kill me when I met him, honestly. And he didn’t. He was so unlike everything I’d heard about him. He cared about me, he loved me, he loved Leora. He was so excited to find out I was pregnant.” Gabe sighed and looked down at Leora in the sling across his chest, reaching up to pull her knit hat down further over her head. “He talked about you guys sometimes, too. He missed you. In our house, he still had a few family photos hanging up, you’ll see when we drive up to the house to get his stuff. I think he’d be glad that you’re here now. He thought nobody cared.”

A smile grew on Courtney’s face, her cheeks turning rosy as a tear slid down her cheek. “I’m glad. He really wasn’t the monster everyone said he was. I knew him, even though everyone said I was wrong… I _knew_ he still had a little of himself left in him.” Her eyes lowered to William’s grave, the patch of snow and dirt he slumbered under. “I’m sorry, Bill. I love you. I should have tried harder.”

“Do you know at all how he… became a vampire?”

Courtney shook her head. “Not really. He tried to sneak in to talk to me about it once… but our parents caught him and kicked him out. I wish I knew. Maybe it’d explain a few things.”

Gabe looked down at the grave, too, realizing he had no idea what William had been through. He’d never brought it up, the exact details of how he was turned and what happened during that time. Maybe it would explain a few things. Maybe Gabe would have been able to excuse his behavior if he knew.

Courtney’s eyes drifted up from the grave to glance at the patch of trees lining the edge of the cemetery and gasped.

“What?” Gabe asked, looking up to the same trees but seeing nothing. Courtney didn’t answer; she raced toward the trees, weaving around the graves to reach the edge of the cemetery. Gabe followed, trying to jog slowly and hold his baby so she wouldn’t shake or fall. “Courtney, what is it?”

Courtney stopped at the trees, spinning around and eyes darting around as if searching for something. After a few seconds, her shoulders dropped. “Sorry. I just… I thought… it sounds stupid, but I thought I saw him.” She turned around, looking down at the ground solemnly. “Maybe I need a nap. Could you take me to my hotel?”

Gabe returned to William’s grave alone later in the evening. He didn’t know why. Maybe he wanted to hallucinate seeing William’s face, too. Maybe he wanted to subject himself to the cold and frozen tears on his cheek. Maybe he just couldn’t bear to part with William, even now. He didn’t know why. All he knew was he felt a pull to the spot where William lay.

However, as he stood there, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was simply a cemetery at night, and it was cold, and Gabe should have known better than to put himself in danger like this. If any vampires came by and saw him vulnerable like this, he’d be dead no matter whose boyfriend he used to be.

Gabe lingered at William’s grave for a while longer in silence, keeping him company until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Gabe spun around. crying, “William?!”

“Nope, just me,” Brendon said, giving him a gentle smile.

“Brendon!” Gabe hugged him. “It’s been so long. What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m doing good. I’m sorry I left you all alone like that, I had to get out but now…” Brendon pulled back, gazing at William’s grave. “I feel awful. It’s my fault he’s gone. What happened to him? Was it Pete?”

Gabe nodded. “I tried to stop him, but… I couldn’t.”

“I should have been there to stop it,” Brendon said, an edge of regret to his voice. “I feel so _selfish_ for leaving you guys. We knew Pete was still out there… but I…”

“Brendon--” Gabe laid his hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “This isn’t your fault. I wouldn’t have expected you to stay after what William did to you.”

“I guess you’re right.” Brendon stuck his hands in his pockets out of habit, even though he was hardly affected by the cold. “Did he ever…” he trailed off, avoiding Gabe’s eyes as he whispered, “Did he ever do that to you? ...Rape you?”

Gabe’s expression became empty, and Brendon immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“He did,” Gabe choked out. “A few days after I gave birth. He was going to turn me… but then Pete happened. The entire time all I could think about was getting it over with. I had no idea that’d be the last time, and I feel terrible about it. It _hurt,_ but in a kind of fucked up way, I wish I just tried to go along with it.”

He felt tears brimming in his eyes. _Damn it,_ he was so tired of crying by now. Brendon was silent, his pity heavy in the air. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “That was entirely wrong for him to do. Even for a vampire.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Gabe swallowed back a sob as his voice shook. “I _lied_ to his own sister today, I told her William wasn’t as bad as everyone makes him out to be. I can’t just tell everyone he pretty much _raped_ me. I don’t want them to be right, I don’t want William to be remembered like that by anyone, not even _me._ Am I going to have to lie about him to our own daughter, too?”

Brendon chewed on his bottom lip. “I wish I could remember him better, too. I feel like shit, standing in front of his grave and remembering _rape_ out of everything he did for us even though we can’t help it, we can’t just ignore it because it happened.”

Gabe’s expression contorted, and he wrapped his arms tight around Brendon again, sobbing into his shoulder, “I just don’t want to feel _guilty_ anymore just because of what William did to us, I don’t know what to do.”

“Me too,” Brendon said. He rubbed the back of Gabe’s jacket. “I don’t know what to do, either.”

And in a way, that was the most comforting thing he could have said. Because even though Gabe had no idea how to fix it, at least he wasn’t alone.

After Gabe had finished crying and promised himself that had to be the last time he would, he let go of Brendon and stepped back. “I don’t want you to disappear on me again,” he pleaded, his cheeks flushed red in the dim light from far street lights. “Please, don’t. Losing William is hard enough. I don’t care whether you still kill people… you’re the only one who really understands what’s going on.”

“Of course not,” Brendon reassured him. “You’re still my best friend. You’re still all I have left after the Dandies. We can keep in touch.”

A smile grew on Gabe’s lips. “Thank you. Thank you _so_ much. And… if you still want to be Leora’s Uncle Brendon, I think she would love that.”

“Leora, that’s her name?” Brendon grinned. “I love it. I’d love to be her uncle and meet her sometime. That’d be great. I’m heading back to Chicago tomorrow night, but I can totally come back and visit.”

“Chicago?” Gabe asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Why Chicago?”

Brendon shrugged, and with an air of casualness he said, “I’m going to kill Pete. Maybe start up my own gang while I’m at it, too.”

Gabe was hardly unphased. “You’re gonna kill Pete?” he asked, the tone of his voice sounding so casual it was as if he was inquiring about the weather.

“Yeah. You don’t have a problem with it, right? If it makes you—”

“No, I’m absolutely fine with it.” Deep down, Gabe knew Pete had began with good intentions, but even with everything William had done to him, he knew William didn’t deserve his immutable ending, he knew it was too far for Pete to have roped Gabe’s own friends into trying to kill him too, and he knew it was even more unforgivable that he had contemplated killing both Gabe and Leora. Pete had started out as something like an annoying friend who meant the best, but now? Who was to stop him from going after Gabe and William’s innocent daughter, too?

The last year had certainly left its imprint on Gabe, because even he surprised himself when he coldly added, “And make sure he suffers, too. Do whatever the hell you want to him. I don’t want him to be able to touch us ever again. He’s done more than enough.”

“I hear you loud and clear.” A smirk twitched on Brendon’s mouth, but he quickly flattened his lips in case that would be too disturbing. Gabe found he didn’t mind it at all. “I found a few from the Punks that are willing to help me. Bastard is going down for sure. Anyways, while we’re asking questions, there was one thing I was wondering. In case you ever... change your mind about the whole not-wanting-to-be-turned-into-a-vampire thing, I’d always be willing to do it for you.”

Gabe knew the answer William would have wanted. The answer that would always offer Gabe and Leora the protection they couldn’t have when William was dead and Brendon would soon be back in Chicago. “Thanks,” Gabe said, giving him a friendly smile. “But I’m good for now. I’ll let you know if I ever change my mind.”

Gabe opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by bitter cold air, the street covered in a sort of sludge-y snow. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he was back at his former college in Chicago, the sky pitch-black and silent. A picture-perfect recreation of the night they had met.

A scream rippled through the air. Gabe found himself running toward the direction it came, into the road and toward the gym building. This time, he didn’t slide and trip on ice or scrape his hand. He raced around the corner, only skidding to a stop and remembering to catch his breath when he saw William, his fangs deep in some girl’s neck. Her screams cut off, the key ring in her hand fell to the pavement with a _clink,_ and William only kept sucking at the blood that painted both of them with vivid red.

“William,” Gabe finally gasped out. _“William.”_

William's eyes flickered open, and upon seeing Gabe, he let the girl drop to the ground with a heavy _thud._ William grinned, stepping over the body so he could press a bloody kiss to Gabe’s lips. The metallic taste of death was still as strong as ever.

“Missed you,” William murmured against Gabe’s lips. “Fuck that Pete bitch, right?”

Gabe found himself unable to hold back a giggle. Nothing else mattered anymore except the fact that William was _here._ “Right. Fuck him. Brendon told me he’d kill him.”

“I heard,” William said. His finger trailed beneath Gabe’s jaw. “I heard the whole conversation, actually. You know, I’m kinda glad you didn’t take him up on his offer for him to turn you.”

“Why? Would you be _jealous?”_ Gabe teased.

“A little,” William admitted. “But there’s more to it than that.” He lightly pressed his other hand over Gabe’s stomach. “Although I guess I couldn’t give you vampirism that one night, I gave you something even _better.”_

Confused, Gabe asked, “What do you mean?”

William simply smiled and tilted his head. “I thought you would have guessed by now, with the vomiting and all that. Our second child, Gabanti. Aren’t you excited?”

Gabe’s eyes shot open. _It was just a dream,_ he told himself, reaching up to touch his dry lips. Just a dream.

A tear rolled down his cheek. Of course, the only dream he’d had with William in it so far and he’d told him he was _pregnant._ That was impossible, Leora having been born so recently.

The thought of a second child made Gabe feel numb. Leora would never have another sibling. He and William would have no more children together, and that was that.

As if to counter him, uneasiness quelled in his stomach that quickly turned into rising nausea. Gabe ran for the bathroom.

It was impossible. Gabe knew he couldn’t be pregnant, and yet, here he was, bent over the toilet.

As he watched his father hold Leora, swaddled in a soft pink wrap, while they sat on the couch and watched TV, Gabe finally had the courage to ask the question he’d been pondering. “¿Papí?” Diego looked up from Leora’s sleeping face. “I was wondering… would it be at all possible for someone to get pregnant a few days after giving birth? I know it sounds silly, but…” he trailed off, already feeling embarrassed he had to ask because there was _no,_ absolutely _no_ way he was pregnant again.

Diego raised his eyebrows. “Well, not for a woman, but because fertile men’s cycles work a lot differently, there’s a small chance it can happen. What, do you think—”

Gabe gulped. “I don’t know. Would it really be possible?”

Very seriously, Diego nodded. He seemed to have the same hollow fear Gabe did in his eyes. “Mijo, you _have_ been getting sick lately.”

“No,” Gabe shook his head in disbelief. “There’s no way.” He tried to stand up, but his legs felt like jelly beneath him, beneath the weight of the news, so he sank back down to the couch. “It can’t be possible.”

A week later, staring down at the two pink lines of the pregnancy test, Gabe found out William had been right.

It was one last, final parting gift: a baby boy who would eerily resemble his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... that's it. Next chapter is the epilogue and then this is over! Which is super crazy to think about, what the fuck?
> 
> Also, yeah, I know, it probably doesn't make sense at all that Gabe could have gotten pregnant again lol. But it's a vampire mpreg fic and biology has already been thrown out the window anyways, so I can do what I want!
> 
> If you want to yell at me, my twitter is @inpacithicctime and my instagram is @lostinpacithicctime.


	45. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally here, the last chapter! I totally didn't cry when I wrote this.

_ 5 YEARS LATER _

“We’re here,” Gabe said, slowly pulling the car to a stop in the cemetery. When he opened the backdoors, reaching in to unbuckle the kids out of their car seats, he asked, “Are you guys ready to see Daddy?”

“Yeah,” Leora said. By now, she was a five-year-old with long dark curls of hair and a button nose. In her hands, she protectively clutched a few pebbles that they would place on William’s grave, as is the tradition in Jewish cemeteries.

The son Gabe had given birth to after William’s death, named Jakob William Beckett, only nodded. While Leora took more after Gabe with a few glimmers of her other father, Jakob looked startlingly exactly like a younger version of William with lighter brown and not as curly hair, an oddly-similar shaped nose, full but not thick eyebrows, and the same indented chin. Looks weren’t the only thing Jakob had inherited from William; he had recently lost his first baby tooth, leaving a gap and revealing a more-fang like tooth to be growing in its place.

For the most part, Jakob was a normal child, but his heart beat slower and he stared weirdly whenever he saw blood. Brendon had visited a few times and confided in Gabe his suspicions that Jakob was a vampire. Gabe didn’t want to believe it until the fang started pushing from his gums. He did love Jakob, just as much as Leora, but sometimes he felt like his son was a method of William’s to ensure Gabe would never escape back to a fully human life, even when William was dead. All too often, Gabe woke up from nightmares of Jakob standing over a body, blood painting his mouth and looking up innocently at him. He didn’t want his son to turn out like William, but with every passing day, it felt more and more inevitable although Jakob was only four years old.

That wasn’t Gabe’s only worry. William’s fangirls, although decreased in number since his passing, were still around and plenty interested in their lives, especially considering Jakob’s resemblance to William. Gabe had been approached by a stalker once when going to one of his law school classes, and the Jewish day school that Leora and Jakob attended had to call the police on more than one occasion. The problems usually did resolve themselves, though; Gabe would just tell Brendon a name and whoever was bothering them would be gone within several days.

Leora clung onto Gabe’s hand while they walked through the cemetery, slightly unsettled as usual. Jakob, meanwhile, was hardly unaffected. He always rejected holding Gabe’s hand at the cemetery. It had been exactly five years since William’s death, and although it hadn’t yet begun to snow, Gabe had made sure the kids were dressed warmly head-to-toe. That had caused Jakob to start crying when he picked him up from preschool because he didn’t want to wear his mittens, but at least they probably wouldn’t complain about being cold. Jakob always complained about being cold.

“Here we are,” Gabe said, stopping at the spot where William was buried. The grass had grown over the patch of dirt a long time ago, and it only served as a painful reminder to Gabe of how much time had passed. William had missed his daughter’s first birthday, Jakob’s birth and bris, Leora’s first day of kindergarten and Jakob’s first day of preschool, and many more events. Gabe never got used to his absence; there always was an empty space or corner or seat where he knew William should have been. It hurt, but Gabe had the small consolation of Pete being dead; at least William had been avenged.

Leora let go of Gabe’s hand and said, “Hi, Daddy. I hope you like the rocks we got. We found them at the park.” She stretched her arm up to put the pebbles on top of William’s gravestone, placing each one with care. “There was a bunch of gooses flying over the park when we went. It was really cool.”

“Jakob, do you want to say hi?” Gabe asked, looking down at his son.

“Hi,” Jakob said to William’s grave. “You should go to our Chanukkah concert. It’s really soon. I want to see you not in pictures. Papí said I’m really good at singing the dreidel song.”

While Jakob understood William was gone, he didn’t yet understand he was permanently gone. Gabe didn’t know if he could explain it to him right now, so Gabe just asked, “Why don’t you sing it for him, in case he can’t come?”

“No,” Jakob said stubbornly, crossing his arms. “Not the same.”

“It’s just a song!” Leora protested.

“Jakob doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to,” Gabe told her. “It’s okay, Jakob, Daddy would understand. I’ll tell him all about how good you were at the concert next time we visit.” Jakob just nodded.

There were a few moments of silence, until Leora said, “I miss you. Even though I don’t remember you. But you were probably nice.”

“I miss him too, mija. He was a really great father. He loves you two a lot.” Gabe had been to therapy since the death, and although now he understood just how horrible and toxic some of the things William had done to him, he could never break the news to their children so young. He didn’t know if he would  _ ever _ tell them, but at some point they’d have to find out exactly who William Beckett was. Gabe glanced at the pebbles and whispered to himself, “I miss you, Bilvy, every single day. I still wish you were here.”

There were so many other things Gabe wanted to talk to William about, but not in front of the children. Even if he was unsure about what came after death, it was comforting to cry in bed at night and whisper to William about how conflicted he was about how he remembered him, or about how worried he was for Jakob’s future if he really was a vampire, or when he got anxious about another stalker and was thinking about moving all over again. William, or at least the version in Gabe’s head, was just as he remembered him, trying to soothe him but also giving him brutal honesty. Sometimes it was what Gabe needed. Sometimes it just made the situation worse, and Gabe would run out of his bed and pace around the kitchen in the middle of the night as he called Brendon so he could help him try not to freak out. Brendon, although busy with his own new vampire gang, was always willing to listen. He was the only one who understood, and Gabe told him things he didn’t even tell his therapist.

The kids said a few more things about what letters of the alphabet they’d learned or the snowflake craft they’d done in school or whatever the kindergarten drama was this time, and Gabe made sure to mention how well they were doing in school and how proud William would be of them, and then said, “We should get going soon. Kids, say bye to Daddy.”

Jakob said his sentence as almost one word, “Bye DaddyIloveyou,” at the same time as Leora said, “Bye, te quiero.”

Gabe walked the kids back to the car, and the two were respectful enough to not talk about which flavor of ice cream they’d get until they were being buckled up in their car seats. It was their tradition to get ice cream after their visits, because Gabe needed the comfort and if needed, he could use it as an incentive for the kids to behave.

Just as Gabe started up the car and pressed his foot on the gas pedal, Leora shrieked. “I see him!”

Gabe pushed on the brake pedal and looked around. “What? Who, mija?”

“Daddy!” Leora pointed out the window with her blue mitten over her hand. “I saw him! Like in the pictures! He’s  _ right there! _ ”

Gabe squinted his eyes in the direction she pointed, but he didn’t see anything. Still, he shifted the car into park and said, “I’ll go look, mija.”

He left the car on as he got out so the heating would stay on for the kids and walked back onto the dull cemetery grass, looking around. He didn’t expect to see anything; Leora was just a kid, after all, and maybe she just  _ wished _ she was seeing William. It would make sense.

Still, Gabe asked, “William? You there?” There was silence, and Gabe felt stupid. He really wasn’t expecting anything, why did he speak?

He was about to turn around, back toward the car, when Gabe  _ swore _ he felt a ghosting of lips pressed against his cheek, and the familiar whisper of, “ _ Gabanti. _ ”

Gabe spun around, but there was nothing. Just graves and the car. The voice persisted.

“Mine,” he heard William whisper into his ear. Gabe shivered. “You’ll always be  _ mine. _ ”

“William?” Gabe’s eyes darted around, but he still saw nothing. Was that William’s  _ ghost _ or  _ soul _ or whatever it was that remained of him, or was Gabe going crazy and would have to give Brendon a call later?

“I can feel your anxiety, you know,” William’s voice said. “You’d be far safer if you took Brendon’s offer. Just quit law school, you already have my money. You’d be able to protect our kids if you were a vampire.”

A tear rolled down Gabe’s icy cheek. “I don’t know, I can’t just--”

“I don’t want you buried next to me for a  _ long _ time,” William coaxed. “You should think about it. Think of the children. I love you.”

Gabe didn’t even realize the chill he’d felt from William’s presence until it was suddenly gone and the tension in Gabe’s shoulders left. He slowly reached up to his cheek, feeling where he thought he’d felt William’s lips. What the  _ hell _ had just happened? Was that really him? All at once, it felt like the unravelling of years of therapy but maybe… maybe it really  _ could _ be William, even if just the slightest chance.

He got back into the car. “Daddy told me he loves you very much,” was the best way he could put it. In the rearview mirror, Leora smiled smugly at the fact she was right. “Okay, let’s get ice cream.”

Gabe thought about what he had heard from William as he drove, as he waited in line with the children for ice cream, as they sat down at a table and ate. After all these years, he knew he still trusted William. He was  _ William. _ Gabe always had his doubts about his therapist’s advice. If this really was William, his voice coming from another realm, maybe it was something to be heeded. Gabe was pretty sure his mind couldn’t make up what he said.

As Leora and Jakob ate their ice cream from the little cups, their lips stained with chocolate and strawberry, Gabe took out his cellphone and said, “I’m gonna call Uncle Brendon quickly, okay?” The children both nodded and kept eating their ice cream, so Gabe took out his cell phone and called, wondering if Brendon would even answer this early in the evening.

Brendon picked up after a few rings. “ _ Dude, _ it’s so early,” he groaned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just that I just visited where William’s buried with the kids and…” Gabe’s voice became more hushed, although he doubted Leora and Jakob were listening. “I think you should visit soon so we can talk.”

“Talk?” Brendon asked, just as Gabe picked up a napkin to reach over the table and wipe dripping chocolate off of Leora’s face. “Why?”

“I’ll text you about it,” Gabe put down the napkin. “I don’t want the kids to hear.”

“Why not?” Leora asked.

“Not now, mija,” Gabe gently told her. “Brendon, do you think you can fly out here soon?”

“Sure, I totally can. I can get a flight tonight.”

“Great,” Gabe said. “Thank you  _ so _ much. See you soon, then.”

“See ‘ya.”

Gabe hung up and shoved his cellphone back in his pocket. “Good news, Uncle Brendon is going to visit us soon, are you guys excited? He might be able to fly in tonight.”

“Aren’t we visiting Abuelo tonight?” Leora asked.

Gabe nodded. “Yes, we are. And you know we do  _ not _ ever tell Abuelo about Uncle Brendon, right?” Both Leora and Jakob nodded. “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that's how it ends. I hope it lived up to your expectations? Last chapters are always difficult. I doubt I'm ever going to continue this fic unless I ever come up with a really good oneshot idea, so honestly what you think happens after is up to you. Is William really talking to Gabe or is he going crazy? Will their children turn out just like William? Does Gabe ask Brendon to turn him? I have my own thoughts on those, but I'd rather hear your own take tbh ;)
> 
> Thank you so much if you read this far, everyone's support and excitement for this fic means the world :D It's certainly been a journey, and although I honestly cringe whenever I read the first like twenty chapters of this fic, it's definitely helped me improve my writing skills a ton. It's very crazy that this fic I worked so hard on is now kinda a meme in the tai/cobra fandom as the vampire mpreg gabilliam fic and I love it. Thank you so much to everyone who has commented or messaged me about this fic, I love all of you, and thank you SO much to mikeyskies, you literally helped me come up with half the ideas in this fic and I could have never written a 120k word fic without you ilysm.
> 
> As for my plans after finallyyyy finishing this fic, I'm probably never going to write a mpreg long fic again lol. I've got multiple fics in progress right now, so whenever I complete one in the next few months I'll post that. Until then, I'll be taking a break (aside from posting whatever fucked up oneshot ideas I have). Either way, I doubt I'll ever top this fic, but who knows? ;)
> 
> Welp, that's it. If you wanna talk/stalk/scream at me, my twitter is @inpacithicctime and my instagram is @lostinpacithicctime.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! Next one may or may not have smut ;)


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